Beant Singh assassination: Six found guilty after 12 yrs

Twelve years after former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh was assassinated in a human bomb attack, six out of the nine accused in the case were on Friday held guilty by Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADJ) Ravi Kumar Sondhi.

Twelve years after former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh was assassinated in a human bomb attack, six out of the nine accused in the case were on Friday held guilty by Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADJ) Ravi Kumar Sondhi. The quantum of punishment will be decided on Saturday.

The verdict was announced inside the high security Burail jail, which has been the venue of court proceedings against the accused lodged there. Only advocates and some close relatives of the accused were allowed to enter witness the proceedings. In early 2004, three of the main accused escaped from the jail after digging a tunnel. Two of them were re-captured later.

Jagtar Singh Hawara, Shamsher Singh, Lakhwinder Singh, Nasib Singh, Balwant Singh and Gurmeet Singh were convicted on Friday. Except Nasib Singh, who was held guilty only under Section 5 of the Explosives Act, the other five have been held guilty on charges of murder, attempt to murder, abetment to suicide, criminal conspiracy and under sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Explosives Act. Nasib Singh was also accused of murder, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy and abetment to suicide, but the court, owing to lack of evidence, acquitted him.

The only accused who has been acquitted of all charges is Navjot Singh. Proceedings against Paramjit Singh Bheora are still pending as he was declared proclaimed offender in the case, but was later arrested. The ninth accused, Jagtar Singh Tara, is still absconding.

Though held innocent by the court, Navjot Singh could not be released on Friday as the jail authorities said he was wanted in another case registered in New Delhi. Advocate N S Minhas, defence counsel for Navjot, objected to this, saying the warrants were issued in 1995.

The assassins and their plan
Dilawar Singh, the human bomb: A Special Police Officer (SPO) with the Punjab Police, he was assigned the task of assassinating Beant Singh. Dilawar Singh, who was wearing an explosive belt underneath his uniform, reached Beant Singh when the CM had just stepped to his car and pressed the trigger.
Jagtar Singh Hawara: Jagtar Singh Hawara, a member of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist group headed by Wadhawa Singh, was the mastermind behind the whole operation. Hawara arranged the explosives and finances to purchase the Ambassador car used in the assassination. He escaped from Burail jail but was rearrested.
Jagtar Singh Tara: Worked as a mechanic-cum-taxi driver in Delhi. An active member of Babbar Khalsa International, Tara helped Hawara purchase the car and brought it to Chandigarh, where he got it re-painted. Escaped along with Hawara. Still missing.
Paramjit Singh Bheora: A resident of Delhi, Paramjit Singh was Tara’s friend and another active member of BKI, who helped Tara bring the car to Chandigarh. Escaped along with Hawara but was rearrested
Lakhwinder Singh: A Punjab Police constable posted at the MT section of the Punjab Civil Secretariat which deals with repair, fuelling and maintenance of official vehicles. A few days before the assassination, he was posted as the driver of a former MP.
Shamsher Singh: Hawara and others used to take shelter at his house and hide their explosives.
Gurmeet Singh: An engineer working with BPL, he was given the task of designing the explosive belt and prepare it for explosion
Balwant Singh: A Punjab Police constable, he was posted as gunman with a journalist and was assigned the task to help Dilawar Singh cross the security ring at Punjab Civil Secretariat and reach Beant Singh
Nasib Singh: He provided a hideout to Jagtar Singh Hawara