Hawara kept aides in dark on jailbreak

Hawara picked fellow convict Lakha and his wife as he knew she had been active during militancy. But even Baljit, who put the logistics in place, knew little of the escape. ‘‘The story Hawara gave out was that a car and driver had to be arranged on a particular day to receive Rs 5 lakh from abroad,’’ a senior police officer said. Lakha was promised Rs 50,000. Around January 7, Baljit was given a letter to collect ‘‘working expenses from the Guru Asa Ram Trust of Kanwarpal Singh Dhami’’. Dhami gave her Rs 25,000.

Baljit bought a cellphone to talk to Hawara had by then laid out a code for each letter of Gurmukhi. Baljit was asked to take up a room at Gurdwara Amb Sahib and procure a car. She was asked to bring the car on the night of Lohri. She had come up to the Mohali barrier when Hawara turned her back.

He got Chaura to contact Baljit who told him to blow up the transformer. He was also asked to contact Gurdeep to arrange for the car. Then, the late January date was set. Chaura was ready with the iron chains to hit the transformer, Hawara asked him to wait for half an hour. Chaura later blew up the transformer and fled. Between 11.45 and 12 that night, the fugitives made their way out. This time, they walked the way from the jail to the gurdwara where Baljit and Gurdeep were waiting.