Balwant Singh Rajoana
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.
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).
Source: Live TV - http://english.samaylive.com/regional-news/punjab-news/676502054/balwant-singh-rajoana-to-be-hanged-on-march-31-court.html
