Massa Ranghar

Massa Ranghar, formally Ranghar, also known by his birth name Musalal Khan was the Ranghar choudhary of Mandiala. In 1738, Qazi Abdul Razzaq was killed in an encounter with the Sikhs under Nawab Kapur Singh. The Subahdar (Governor) of Lahore Zakariya Khan Bahadur, appointed Massa Ranghar as the Commandant of Amritsar. He used the precincts of the Golden Temple for amusement with dancing girls.^[1] He was assassinated by Mehtab Singh and Sukha Singh.

Massa Ranghar
Massa Ranghar being entertained by Nautch dancers at the Golden Temple in Amritsar
Born	Musalal Khan
Died	11 August 1740(1740-08-11) (aged 40) Amritsar, Punjab
Religion	Islam

Assassination

Decapitated head of Massa Ranghar, detail from a painting of Sukha Singh and Mehtab Singh returning with the severed head of Massa Ranghar, ca.1875

The news of this sacrilegious use of the gurdwara spread to the remote areas. Two Sikhs, Sukha Singh and Mehtab Singh, decided to kill Massa Ranghar.^[1][2] They disguised themselves as lambardars, entered the gurdwara and beheaded Massa Ranghar while he was enjoying the dance.^[3][4][5]

Massa Ranghar met his end at the hands of Mehtab Singh.^[6][7]