4 try to manhandle Hawara; 1 slapped

The high-voltage drama was witnessed at around 10 am when Hawara and his accomplice Paramjit Singh Bheora,were being produced before a local court. One of the four activists pushed Hawara when the latter was entering inside the Court amidst tight security.

Hawara,whose left hand was handcuffed,immediately caught hold of the activist and slapped him in full public view with his right hand. The other three tried to save their friend but were restrained by the Chandigarh Police and taken into police custody.

Following the ruckus created by the four,who kept raising slogans propagating their party’s name,the police blocked the road adjoining the Court. This resulted in harassment to commuters.

The four have been booked on charges of obstructing public servant from conducting his duty; wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt. Those booked are Nishant Sharma,Ramesh Dutt,Manish Sood and Ashutosh Sharma.

Hawara and Paramjit Singh Bheora were brought to Chandigarh district court today for resumed hearing of the infamous Burail jail break case. Both the terrorists are lodged in Tihar Jail in connection with the New Delhi blasts case of 2004.

According to eyewitnesses,the activists were waiting near the gate of the court complex and pounced on Hawara. Raising slogans against Hawara and Bheora,the “activists” alleged that Hawara and Bheora are a threat to the society.

Hawara,Bheora and their accomplice Jagtar Singh Tara along with another murder convict Devi Singh had made a sensational escape from Burail Jail in January 2004 by digging a 104-foot long tunnel. While Hawara and Bheora were arrested,Tara and Devi Singh are still at large. The court today issued a notice to the Chandigarh Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) regarding the security to the defence counsel.

Meanwhile,the family of the accused the State agencies of planning of the attack in order to force them to agree for video conferencing on the grounds of Law and order problem. Taking cognisance of an application moved by Arvind Thakur,Hawara’s defence lawyer,the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate today issued notices to the Chandigarh SSP.

While the statements of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Jagbir Singh were recorded that went for around two and a half hours,cross-examination of Sub Inspector Surinder Kumar was completed today. At today’s hearing,as many as 117 items related to the case were produced by the prosecution in the court.

These included ropes,electricity items,iron rods and others that were claimed to be used for digging of the tunnel.