Mohammad Izhar Alam (4 August 1948 – 6 July 2021)[1] was the director general of police of the state of Punjab.
[2] According to a paper released from the US Embassy in New Delhi on 19 December 2005, during Alam's tenure as the head of the state police, he is reported to have fostered a combat force called "Fauj-e-Alam" (Alam's Army),[3] composed of around 150 dismissed police officials and reformed Sikh insurgents, to work alongside the Punjab police ranks.
[4] The force is alleged to have been engaged in torture and extrajudicial killings of insurgents from 1984 to 1994.
[5] He also entered politics and attempted to contest the 2012 assembly elections from Malerkotla constituency on Akali Dal ticket,[6] but withdrew when he faced opposition from a faction of the party.
[8] The government of India awarded Alam the fourth-highest civilian honour, Padma Shri, in 1987.