Beant Singh assassination case deferred on Jul 31

Chandigarh, July 30: The Special CBI Court will pronounce the quantum of sentence on Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Jagtar Singh Hawara and five other accused in the Beant Singh assassination case, tomorrow.

Ths Special Court Judge Ravi Kumar today adourned the case for tomorrow after the defence counsel completed their arguments on the verdict pronounced by the Court on Friday last, holding Hawara and his associates Gurmit Singh, Shamsher Singh, Lakhwinder Singh and Balwant Singh guilty of murder, attempt to murder, conspricy to murder and under the explosives act.

The sixth accused, Naseeb Singh, who has been behind bars for the last 11 years was found guilty under section-five of the explosives act. The Court had however acquited Navjot Singh, as the CBI during the trial failed to produce sufficient evidence of his involvement in the crime.

Presenting their arguments on the verdict, the defence said that the courts verdict was based on mere circumstancial evidence, as the investigating agency had failed to present any conceret evidence of their involvement in the crime. The defence pleaded that before pronouncing the sentence, the Court should take into consideration the evidence collected by the investigating agency.

The defence further contended that during the period of militantcy in Punjab, former chief minister Beant Singh had been responsible for the death of a number of innocent people. Due to religious and emotional reasons, the accused may have hatched a conspricy to assassinate the former chief minister, the defence contended while demanding that they should be sentenced to life imprisonment.

Beant Singh, the then chief minister and 16 others were killed in a powerful bomb explosion outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat on Auguist 31, 1995.

The prosecution had on Saturday demanded that Hawara, Gurmit, Lakhwinder, Shamsher and Balwant Singh should be awarded nothing less than the death sentence in view of the serious nature of the crime they had committed.

UNI