Chief Minister’s killer Hawara produced: Hearing in 18-year-old case in Chandigarh court; jail break in 2004

Jagtar Singh Hawara, former Chief Minister of Punjab and associated with terrorist organization Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), is being produced in the Chandigarh district court today in an 18-year-old criminal case. Hawara may be presented through video-conferencing for security reasons.

A case was registered against him in the year 2005 at the Sector 17 police station under sections 121, 121A, 122, 153, 120B of the IPC and sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act. Charges against Hawara are yet to be framed in the case.

Hawara is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail. Arguments are to be held in the court of Additional Sessions Judge regarding framing of charges. Earlier production warrants of Hawara have also been issued. The demand for Hawara’s release has been going on at the Chandigarh-Mohali border since January 7.

There has been opposition to shift to Chandigarh
On hearing the case last year, the court had asked the jail authority to shift Hawara to Chandigarh (Burail Jail) if there is no other case pending against him in Delhi courts. With this, pending cases against him would be heard smoothly in Chandigarh. However, Veeresh Shandilya of Anti Terrorist Front of India had termed Hawara as a threat to be shifted to Chandigarh on the basis of the current situation in Punjab. Please tell that Hawara was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Beant Singh murder case.

Charge pending in Mohali as well
In a similar case, the Mohali court is yet to frame charges against Hawara. In that case, Hawara had filed an application for discharge, on which the hearing is going on. The related case was registered against Hawara, including Parvinder Singh, Swaran Singh, Gurdeep Singh and Paramjit Singh. According to the case registered at Kharar police station on June 15, 2005, weapons and RDX were recovered from the arrest of the accused. In these, 8.350 kg RDX, 1.9 kg paint yellow and live cartridges of AK-47 were recovered.

escaped by making a tunnel in the prison
In January 2004, Hawara along with his accomplices Jagtar Singh Tara, Paramjit Singh Bhayora and Devi Singh, convicted in a murder case, had escaped through a 104-feet-deep tunnel in Burail jail. All three were captured except Devi Singh.

The Chief Minister was blown up in the Secretariat
On August 31, 1995, Hawara and other terrorists had killed former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat building through human bomb Dilawar Singh. Many more people were killed in the blast, including policemen.