Julio Francis Ribeiro (born 5 May 1929, in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

) is a retired

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

and

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. He held increasingly responsible positions during his career, and led the Punjab Police during part of the

Punjab insurgency The Insurgency in Punjab was an armed campaign by the separatists of the Khalistan movement from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Economic and social pressures driven by the Green Revolution prompted calls for Sikh autonomy and separatism. This ...

periods. In 1987, he was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

's third highest

civilian A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...

award for his services.

Career

Ribeiro joined the

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service (IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became Partition of India, independent from the British Empire. Along with the Indian Admini ...

in 1953 and rose to be the Commissioner of Mumbai Police from 1982 to 1986. He was promoted to

Director General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

Central Reserve Police Force The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The CRPF assists states and Union Territories in maintaining law and order and internal security. It is composed of the Cent ...

, then to Director General Police of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. Ribeiro served as

of Punjab Police during its worst years of terrorism in Punjab.

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

reported that in the 1980s, Ribeiro led the Punjab police in a "ferocious crackdown" on

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

militants, in a policy christened "bullet for bullet" by

Arun Nehru Arun Kumar Nehru (24 April 1944 – 25 July 2013) was an Indian politician and columnist. He was member of the 9th Lok Sabha from Bilhaur as a Janata Dal leader. Earlier, he was member of the 7th and 8th Lok Sabhas from Rae Bareli on a ...

. He held positions such as Special

Secretary to the Government of India Secretary to the Government of India, often abbreviated as Secretary, GoI, or simply as Secretary, is a post and a rank under the Central Staffing Scheme of the Government of India. The authority for the creation of this post solely rests with ...

in the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

and Adviser to the Governor of Punjab. Ribeiro also served as

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

from 1989 until 1993. In August 1991, Ribeiro was attacked and wounded in a

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

assassination attempt by gunmen identified as

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

i Sikhs. In an April 2006 interview with

The Tribune ''The Tribune'' or ''Tribune'' is the name of various newspapers: United States Daily California *''Oakland Tribune'' * ''The Tribune'' (San Luis Obispo) * ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' *''San Gabriel Valley Tribune'' Indiana *''Kokomo Tribune' ...

, Julio Ribeiro explained that "It has been a role reversal for me... from fighting militants to fighting the corrupt administration." He went on to explain that while he had been offered positions in government, "Fighting with guns was no longer my cup of tea; and I wanted to work for the people of my city, Mumbai. I wanted to be useful to lower socio-economic classes, and thus decided to work at the grass roots level." He also serves as non-executive

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Mumbai. History Glenmark Pharmaceuticals was founded in 1977 by Gracias Saldanha as a generic drug and active pharmaceutical ingredient manu ...

and as a Director of IIT Corporate Services Ltd. He is usually interviewed for his views on communal harmony.

1986 assassination attempt

In the early morning of 3 October 1986, 6 men in police disguise, identified in the press as Sikh militantshttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZNETAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kgYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4036,1046106&dq=ribeiro+sikh attacked Ribeiro inside the headquarters of Punjab Police in the city of Jalandhar, Punjab, India. One guard was killed. Ribeiro, his wife, and four other police and paramilitary officers were injured. Ribeiro's wound was minor, but his wife was hospitalized. All six attackers escaped in a waiting truck. The

Khalistan Commando Force The Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) is a Sikh Khalistani militant organisation operating in the state of Punjab, India with prominent members based in Canada, United Kingdom and Pakistan. Its objective is the creation of a Sikh independent stat ...

(KCF) later claimed responsibility of this attack. KCF leader

Labh Singh Sukhdev Singh Dhillon (1952 – 12 July 1988), also known as General Labh Singh and Sukha Sipahi was an Indian militant, police officer, and Sikh separatist who took command of the Khalistan Commando Force after its first leader, Manbir Singh ...

allegedly led the assassination attempt.

1991 assassination attempt

In August 1991, Ribeiro, then

was attacked and wounded in a

assassination attempt by gunmen identified as

i Sikhs.

Personal life

Julio Ribeiro is married to Melba Ribeiro, has two daughters Nina and Anna, and lives in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, India. Ribeiro titled his autobiography ''Bullet for Bullet: My Life as a Police Officer''.

References

External links

Profile of Julio Ribeiro
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ribeiro, Julio Living people 1929 births Insurgency in Punjab Police commissioners of Mumbai Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in civil service Victims of Sikh terrorism Ambassadors of India to Romania