Dilshad Akhtar (died 28 January 1996; sometimes spelled as Dilshad Akhter) was an Indian singer of

Punjabi folk music Punjabi folk music (, or Punjabi Folk) is the traditional music on the traditional musical instruments of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. There is a great repertoire of music from the time of birth through the different stages of j ...

who also worked as a

playback singer A playback singer, as they are usually known in South Asian cinema, or ghost singer in Western cinema, is a singer whose performance is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and the performers lip-sync the ...

in many

Punjabi film Punjabi cinema, also known as Pollywood or Punjwood, is cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Punjabi language, Punjabi-language widely spoken in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It is based in Amritsar, Ludhi ...

s. Manpreet Akhtar, his sister, and Sandeep Akhtar, his cousin, were also singers.

Biography

Akhtar was born in the Giljewala village of

Sri Muktsar Sahib district Sri Muktsar Sahib district is one of the 23 districts in the Indian state of Punjab. The capital city of district is Sri Muktsar Sahib. The district itself was historically referred to as Khidrane Di Dhaab. There are four tehsils in the district ...

of Indian Punjab and learned music from his teacher in Faridkot. On January 28, 1996, Akhtar was killed by a

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. ...

, during a program in Singhpura village of

Gurdaspur district Gurdaspur district is a district in the Majha region of the state of Punjab, India. Gurdaspur is the district headquarters. It internationally borders Narowal District of Pakistani Punjab, and the districts of Amritsar, Pathankot, Kapurthala ...

, when he refused to entertain a request for a song from the police officer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhtar, Dilshad Punjabi-language singers Singers from Punjab, India 1996 deaths Indian folk singers 20th-century Indian male singers Indian playback singers People from Sri Muktsar Sahib Deaths by firearm in India 1996 murders in India Murders by law enforcement officers Police brutality in India Crime in Punjab, India 20th-century Indian Muslims People from Gurdaspur district People from Faridkot district January 1996 crimes People murdered in Punjab, India