Paan Singh Tomar

Paan Singh Tomar was an Indian athlete who was seven times national steeplechase champion during the 1950s and represented India at the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo. He gained notoriety as a Chambal Valley dacoit when he resorted to banditry after a land feud in his village. He was killed in October 1981 by police. This story inspired Tigmanshu Dhulia to make a movie named Paan Singh Tomar starring Irrfan Khan.

  

 Life and career

Paan Singh was born in Tomar, Rajput family in village Bhidausa (Morena, M.P.) .He was trained as a distance runner while working in the Indian Army. He was a seven times national steeplechase champion during the 1950s. As a subedar with the Bengal Engineers at Roorkee, he represented India in the 1958 Asian Games. His record in the 3,000 m steeplechase stood for almost a decade. According to Joginder Singh Saini, former chief national coach, at 6 feet high, Paan Singh Tomar could cross water jump in a single movement, whereas other athletes stepped on the obstacle to regain balance and add momentum.

Paan touched his athletic peak during the four-year period between 1958 to 1961. He won consecutive national titles, eventually taking the place of Maria Ram in the national team and forming a partnership with Chuni Lal, another national athlete from the Jat Regiment.

In the village where he was born there was a land dispute between Paan Singh and his relatives. He turned to banditry and soon became notorious. He had a reward of 10,000 rupees to his head. Paan Singh was killed in police ambush in 1st Oct.1981.

Pan Singh Tomar with his wife Indira and their children.

"Paan Singh Tomar" could be described an untold true story of a simple farmer, a loyal soldier and a national level athlete, who went on to become one of India's most dreaded dacoits.

Hailing from a small town in Madhya Pradesh, Tomar created the national steeplechase record in the 1958 National Games in Cuttack with a timing of nine minutes and 12.4 seconds and broke his own record in the 1964 Open Meet in Delhi with a timing of nine minutes and four seconds.

He later went on to join the Indian army with posting in Rajputana Rifles. However, a series of events forced him to pick up the gun and become an infamous dacoit in the Chambal Valley in central India.

Source:-http://en.wikipedia.org/