Balwant Singh Rajoana: Difference between revisions

Balwant Singh Rajoana
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Balwant Singh Rajoana was one of two assassins involved in the killing of Beant Singh, is renowed Babbar Khalsa International terrorist.

On August 31, 1995, as Beant Singh stepped out of his office at the high-security Punjab civil secretariat in Chandigarh, suicide bomber Dilawar Singh blew himself up, killing Beant Singh and 17 other people. Rajoana had stood by, ready to blow himself up if Dilawar had failed to kill the Chief Minister.

The special CBI court in Chandigarh awarded the death sentence to Rajoana and Jagtar Singh Hawara in the Beant Singh assassination case on August 1, 2007. Three others; Lakhwinder Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Shamsher Singh were sentenced to life imprisonment for hatching the conspiracy to kill Beant Singh.

Timeline

August 31, 1995: Then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh was assassinated in a suicide bomb attack when he was stepping out of his office in high-security state secretariat. The explosion claimed the lives of 17 people.

September 5, 1995: Co-accused Lakhwinder Singh and Gurmeet Singh were arrested

September 12, 1995: Another accused Jagtar Singh also held

December, 1995: Balwant Singh arrested

February 19, 1996: Chandigarh district court issued a challan against 12 accused and three absconders in the connection with the case.

April 30, 1996: Chandigarh district court framed charges against 11 accused including Balwant Singh Rajaona, Gurmeet Singh, Nasib Singh, Lakhwinder Singh, Navjot Singh, Jagtar Singh, Shamsher Singh and Paramjeet Singh.

August 1, 1996: Chandigarh Court sentenced death penalty against Balwant Singh Rajaona and Jagtar Singh Hawara. Lakhwinder Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Shamsher Singh were awarded life imprisonment.

October 1, 2010: Rajoana said before the Chandigarh High Court that he would not appeal against his death sentence and he should be hanged immediately.

October 12, 2010: Chandigarh High Court commuted death punishment of Hawara to life imprisonment while Rajoana himself did not file mercy or review petition to challenge death punishment sentenced against him.

March 5, 2012: District Court ruled that Balwant Singh to be hanged on March 31.

March 19, 2012: Patiala Jail administration returned the death warrant citing legal and jurisdiction issues, but the court again sent death warrant as a ruling of High Court

March 26, 2012: Additional advocate General of Punjab and CBI counsel exchanged arguments over the death warrant issued against Balwant Singh in the Court.

March 27, 2012: District Court maintained that Balwant Singh should be hanged on scheduled date, March 31, and issued showcause notice for contempt of court to the Patiala Jail Superintendent for returning death warrant earlier.

Stories of Rajoana Hanging

Here are 10 big developments in this story:

1) Officials at the Patiala Jail had told the court they could not hang Mr Rajoana on Saturday. They pointed out that a mercy petition for Mr Rajoana, as well as another man convicted in the same case, are pending with the President of the country. However, the court in Chandigarh has ordered the jailor to conduct the execution on Saturday, and has sent a contempt of court notice to the superintendent of the prison.

2) The state government says it will file an appeal in a higher court to stop Saturday's hanging. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will meet President Pratibha Patil today with a clemency appeal.

3) Mr Rajoana has attacked the Punjab government for trying to save him. In a letter released today from prison, he described the Akali Dal, which is in power in Punjab, as "cheaters." He said the party has not fought to get justice for the Sikhs who were killed in the Delhi riots in 1984 after Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards.

4) The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee or SGPC, which functions as a parliament of Sikhs, sent a mercy petition to President Pratibha Patil for Mr Rajoana. It allegedly cites 11 other similar cases where the death sentence was commuted.

5) The Sikh clergy has said the state government must fight to save Mr Rajoana. The Akal Takht, which is the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, has conferred the title of "zinda shaheed" or living martyr conferred on him by Sikh high priests. Mr Rajoana has said he does not want this title.

6) Mr Rajoana was awarded the death sentence for the assassination of Beant Singh in 2007 by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court. Beant Singh who was the Chief Minister of Punjab from 1992 to 1995 was largely credited with wiping out terrorism from Punjab. He was assassinated by a human bomb, Dilawar Singh, at the high security Punjab civil secretariat in Chandigarh in August 1995. Mr Rajoana was to serve as a back-up human bomb.

7) The assassinated Chief Minister's family has also stated that it has forgiven Mr Rajoana and would like his death sentence to be converted to life imprisonment.

8) A man named Jagtar Singh Hawara was described by the court as the mastermind of the assassination plot and was sentenced to death but his punishment was later commuted by a different court.

9) The campaign to prevent Mr Rajoana's execution has turned into an emotional issue in Punjab. As the scheduled date of execution approaches, security in the state has been increased.

10) The execution can be stopped if the President of the country or the Supreme Court intervenes.

May 26 (2012)

Yesterday the SGPC, the apex religious body of the Sikhs, sent a mercy petition to the President seeking clemency for death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana, even as Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said he would soon meet with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard. An earlier petition seeking deferment of Rajoana’s execution, filed by the Patiala central jail authorities, was denied by the sessions court that ordered Rajoana to be hanged in the Patiala Central Jail on March 31. Patiala central jail superintendent Lakhwinder Singh Jakhar, who returned the death warrant issued by the court, was issued a show cause notice for "contempt of court". The court ordered the Jail Superintendent to file a reply by April 16.

Rajoana, who was convicted for being a Babbar Khalsa terrorist, has refused to defend himself in any court saying he wants to die for "the cause of Khalistan". He has also written that Akali leaders failed to secure justice from Delhi for innocent Sikhs and should not now 'throw their turbans' before Delhi, seeking clemency for him. He continued, “Akalis are trying to secure sympathy for me from Delhi with folded hands. But history would never forgive them for their failure to secure justice for Sikhs”.

About support being offered by Beant Singh's family and Amarinder Singh, Rajoana said, “Didn't want to seek any help from them, who are the representatives of killers.”

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said in the Assembly yesterday that Rajoana cannot be executed on Saturday. "After looking into the all legal aspects of the case minutely, the jail superintendent of the Central Jail in Patiala is of the view that since this case has many legal and constitutional shortcomings, loopholes and flaws, the execution of the court order is impossible within the ambit of law," the Chief Minister said.

The Sikh clergy has said the title of 'Zinda Shaheed' (Living Martyr) that was bestowed on deathrow convict Balwant Singh Rajoana, would not be withdrawn. A decision to this effect was taken at a marathon meeting of the five Sikh head priests including Gurbachan Singh, Jathedar of Akal Takht, the top temporal seat of the Sikhs.

Congress has disapproved all attempts by the Punjab Government and the SGPC to seek clemency for Balwant Singh Rajoana; convicted for his part in the assassination of Beant Singh, the Chief Minister of Punjab from 1992 to 1995 who was largely credited with wiping out terrorism from Punjab (a campaign that included the torture and death of thousands of innocent Sikhs).

Punjab Bandh

A day-long bandh called by radical Sikh outfits to protest the proposed execution of Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted in the Beant Singh killing case, disrupted normal life in parts of Punjab on Wednesday.

A report from Patiala said the call for bandh evoked a total response in the city where Rajoana is lodged in the local Central Jail awaiting his execution on March 31 as per the orders of the Chandigarh Sessions Court.

The situation in the industrial town of Ludhiana was peaceful. Restaurants and eating houses were open while commercial establishments in some markets were partially open.

In Phagwara, the bandh was complete in the city located on the Delhi Jalandhar National Highway. Road traffic was plying normally though the number of passengers using public transport was few.

Section of Sikhs took to streets in some areas carrying flags as security personnel patrolled sensitive areas to maintain peace.

Hardliners Dal Khalsa, Khalsa Action Committee and Khalsa Mission organisation have urged the Sikh community to voluntary shut down their business establishments and observe the day-long bandh peacefully.

Security forces have been conducting flag marches at key locations in the state to instill sense of confidence among the people. Security around Patiala central jail where Rajoana is lodged had been beefed up with erection of additional security points.

Special control rooms have been set up in the districts to keep an eye on the movement of protestors.

On the directions of top temporal seat of Sikhs, Akal Takht, prayers are being held at different places in the state in support of Rajoana.

Trade and industry leaders had yesterday asked the Punjab Government to ensure peace and tranquillity in the state in the wake of the bandh call.

The special CBI court had awarded death sentence to Rajoana and Jagtar Singh Hawara in the Beant Singh case on August 1, 2007. The Chandigarh court had issued the death warrant to the Patiala Jail authorities earlier this month, asking them to hang Rajoana on March 31.

On August 31, 1995 as Beant Singh stepped out of his office at the high-security Punjab civil secretariat in Chandigarh, a suicide bomber blew himself up, killing the then chief minister and 17 others.

Rajoana was the second human bomb to be used in case Dilawar failed in his mission.

References

• Source: Live TV - http://english.samaylive.com/regional-news/punjab-news/676502054/balwant-singh-rajoana-to-be-hanged-on-march-31-court.html
• Source: NDTV: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/will-balwant-singh-rajoana-be-hanged-on-saturday-10-big-developments-190557&cp