TIMES NEWS NETWORK & AGENCIES[ THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2004 11:40:32 AM ]
CHANDIGARH: At least four prisoners, including three prisoners being tried
in the case relating to the assassination of former Punjab chief minister
Beant Singh, have escaped from a jail here by tunnelling their way out.
The prisoners, who bolted from Burail Jail on Wednesday night, include
Jagtar Singh Tara, Jagtar Singh Hawara, Paramjit Singh Pheora and Dev Singh.
The escape came to light Thursday at around 7 am when the terrorists were
not found in their cells.
The terrorists dug a tunnel from inside the jail, taking advantage of lax
security on a rainy and cold night, officials said. All four belonged to the
Babbar Khalsa outfit.
Police said a massive manhunt had been launched in the northern states to
track down the terrorists.
A red-faced Union Territory administration has so far refused to comment on
the jail break, saying that the matter is being investigated.
Top UT officials including Home Secretary, Inspector General of UT police,
Deputy Commissioner, SSP and a large posse of policemen have arrived at the
Burail Jail. The main entrance to the jail has been blocked to keep the
media and curious onlookers at bay.
Authorities said security forces in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal
Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir had been put on high alert.
The terrorists were being tried inside the high-security jail since 1995.
They were lodged in a special security cell, separated from other inmates.
Former chief minister Beant Singh , credited for the return of normalcy in
Punjab after a decade o
f Sikh militancy, was assassinated by a human bomb,
Dilawar Singh, at the Punjab civil secretariat complex on August 31, 1995.
The first charge in the case was filed on November 29, 1995 followed by a
second on December 18,1995. The CBI went on to file another chargesheet on
February 10, 1996. The final chargesheet was filed in November 1997.
Tara is among the two undertrials who had admitted involvement in the case.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040122/main10.htm
Beant Singh murder case accused escape from jail
Chandigarh, January 22
Four undertrials, including three accused in the Beant Singh assassination
case, escaped from the high security Burail jail in Chandigarh on Thursday,
jail sources said.
Those escaped included Jagtar Singh Hawara, Jagtar Singh Tara and Paramjit
Singh, the three main accused in the assassination of Punjab Chief Minister
Beant Singh in 1995, sources said.
The fourth was an undertrial attached as a helper to the accused.
The four escaped by digging about a 100-foot-long tunnel from their barrack
inside the prison to a point outside the jail boundary, sources added.
Senior civil and police officials, including Chandigarh Deputy Commissioner
and District Magistrate Arun Kumar, who is also Inspector General of prison,
have reached the Burail jail.
The proceedings of the Beant Singh assassination case were being conducted
within the high security prison.
Senior Superintendent of police Gaurav Yadav while talking to PTI confirmed
the escape of the four prisoners and added at the moment no further details
could be given.
Beant Singh was assassinated in a human bomb blast out side the Punjab and
Haryana Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995. — PTI
:nihungsmile:
All readers include these chardikalla singhs in your ardass, may waheguru protect,shelter and guide them to safety and freedom.
Sukhbir Singh