An escape that turned out to be a bridge too farChandigarh Tribune takes a look at the series of events and investigations in the case involving four inmates
While a proclaimed offender in the case who was one of the four escapees, Jagtar Singh Tara, was arrested from Thailand (after remaining on the run for 11 years) on January 7 this year, one of the witnesses, who was a former jail warder too made a sudden appearance in the court to pray that his statements be recorded as he had been ignored by the prosecution earlier. The court had then recorded his statements afresh in February this year. On Wednesday (today), the public prosecutor moved an application in the case seeking that sections of sedition be added against Hawara and Bheora. Also pending before the court is another application to hear Tara’s case separately from the main jailbreak case on the plea that this could further delay the trial, adversely affect the other accused and lead to their harassment. The case meantime continues to be one of the most interesting cases in the history of the UT police. The way the jail inmates, including assassins of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, made an easy escape from the high-profile Burail Jail by digging a 104 feet tunnel had sent shock-waves across the nation. Chandigarh Tribune revisits the series of events and travels back into time when the case made headlines on January 21, 2004. The escape (intervening night of January 21 and 22, 2004): Four inmates of the Model Jail, Burail, Chandigarh, made a sensational escape from barrack number 7 of the prison on the intervening night of January 21 and 22, 2004. Three of the four escapees were identified as Jagtar Singh Hawara, Jagtar Singh Tara and Paramjit Singh Bheora, assassins of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. The fourth was their cook, a murder accused, Devi Singh. Present situation (March 2015): A few arrests, including that of Hawara and Bheora, a few failures (Devi Singh has never been arrested and Tara was arrested in January this year), over 260 hearings in courts, scores of witnesses examined and yet the case continues to hang fire in the district courts. There are a total of 21 accused in the case. While one had died during the course of trial, the other accused, Gurwinder Singh Goldy, was also declared a proclaimed offender after he failed to appear in the court following his bail. Two of the accused were discharged by the court. Five of the accused were officials of the Burail Jail. All of them are under suspension ever since. The digging of tunnel: The four escapees, three of whom were assassins of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, escaped in the wee hours of January 22, 2004, from the high-security Burail Model Jail in their third suspected attempt by digging a 104-foot tunnel beneath three walled security rings. Jagtar Singh Hawara, Jagtar Singh Tara, Paramjit Singh Beora and their cook Devi Singh, lodged in the same cell number 7 of Munda Khana Barrack, were found missing from the jail, putting the Chandigarh Police and that of the neighbouring states on high alert. Devi Singh from Garhwal was lodged in the jail in connection with a murder in Sector 39 of the city. They dug up a 2.5-foot-wide and 94-foot-long tunnel beneath their cell, then under the barracks and another 14 ft under the third security wall. After coming out of the tunnel, they possibly crawled a distance of around 50 ft when the electricity of the jail failed twice and there was a blackout,” recalls a jail official. In the cell, the entry point to the tunnel was covered by a back rest of the chair. The exit point in the fields was covered by a wooden board on which carrots were grown. The entry point of the tunnel was where Hawara used to sleep. The cemented platform had a diameter of 2.5 ft and was 14 ft deep. Third attempt: It was the third attempt of Beant Singh’s murder accused to escape the jail. They allegedly tried to escape on July 7, 1998, and then in 2002. The police, however, could not prove the charge against them. Sources said it seemed that the terrorists chalked plans for years and then finally started the work at least a year prior to the escape. How the tunnel failed to catch the eye of police: While the preparation started a year ago, Hawara and Bheora had been putting up resistance against inspectors saying they were Amritdhari Sikhs and entry of others in the cell would defile the area. They kept disposing of mud with water in toilet, bathroom and kitchen. They had the facilities as they were B Class prisoners. They also put up curtains in front of cupboards. As many as 40 bags full of earth were found hidden behind the curtains. The tunnel was dug up under a road inside the jail and 9-ft-wide foundation of the wall. A weightlifting rod was found in the cell with one side of it having mud indicating it might have been used to dig the tunnel. They crawled in the open for more than 50 ft before scaling a wall. The wall bore foot marks. Two T-shirts were lying there indicating they might have changed their clothes in the open. How the digging went unnoticed: The four used to keep the water tap running round the clock to keep the digging work under wraps. The water was also used to soften the soil in the tunnel. They used turbans as ropes to go inside the tunnel during the digging activity. A bulb and a wire, possibly used while carrying out work at night, were also found from the spot after they escaped. The television was on till 3 am on that night. The information about their escape came at 8.15 am How the escape came to light: As per the FIR registered in the case, DS Rana, the then superintendent of the jail, was informed in the morning about the escape. He filed a complaint with the police and a case was registered. The exit point of the tunnel was noticed at 7 am. Twice that night, there was a blackout in the jail. A police source said during investigations, it was found that another accused Narain Singh Chaura had meddled with the electricity wires from outside the jail to help the escapees. The police had then launched a massive search and also questioned the jail inmates about the escape. While Hawara and Tara were re-arrested and are at present lodged in the Tihar Jail, Tara was recently arrested by the Thailand police and deported to India. He was produced in the Chandigarh court which had declined his custody to the police. Involvement of jail officials: Five jail officials (all suspended and facing trial) were among the accused in the case. Interestingly, the then superintendent, DS Rana, who is named as the complainant in the FIR, was later arrested as an accused. His counsel advocate Amar Singh Chahal said the officials were arrested for negligence. Apart from Rana, the then Deputy Superintendent DS Sandhu, Assistant Superintendent PS Rana, Deputy Superintendent VM Gill and warder Inder Singh were booked for conspiring with the accused to facilitate the escape. How Hawara and Bheora landed in police net again: Hawara’s arrest came after the twin blasts in Delhi on May 22, 2005, in Satyam Multiplex at Patel Nagar and Liberty Cinema on Rohtak Road. The blast claimed two lives and injured many when BKI activists detonated two bombs. Although there were speculations that he was arrested from outside Punjabi University in Patiala, police records stated that he was arrested by the special cell of the Delhi Police from Delhi on July 7, 2005. Bheora was arrested on March 23, 2006, by the special cell of the Delhi Police while they were planning to set up base in Delhi. The police had traced him after he contacted Harjeet Singh Gill, Babbar Khalsa chief in the US. Bheora had taken over the BKI after Hawara’s arrest a year before. As per the statements given by the Delhi Police after his arrest, a trap was laid on GT Karnal Road in Delhi. Around 6 am, Bheora, along with Jasbir Singh and Bhupinder Singh, were arrested after an exchange of fire. Four kilograms of RDX, three detonators, one remote control device along with a wireless set, one timer, three pistols, 39 live cartridges and three fired cartridges were recovered from their possession. They were travelling in a stolen Santro car.
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 18
One of the most sensational and among the oldest cases currently running
in the district courts — Burail Jailbreak — has been a witness to many
twists and turns after the case reached its final stage this year.While a proclaimed offender in the case who was one of the four escapees, Jagtar Singh Tara, was arrested from Thailand (after remaining on the run for 11 years) on January 7 this year, one of the witnesses, who was a former jail warder too made a sudden appearance in the court to pray that his statements be recorded as he had been ignored by the prosecution earlier. The court had then recorded his statements afresh in February this year. On Wednesday (today), the public prosecutor moved an application in the case seeking that sections of sedition be added against Hawara and Bheora. Also pending before the court is another application to hear Tara’s case separately from the main jailbreak case on the plea that this could further delay the trial, adversely affect the other accused and lead to their harassment. The case meantime continues to be one of the most interesting cases in the history of the UT police. The way the jail inmates, including assassins of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, made an easy escape from the high-profile Burail Jail by digging a 104 feet tunnel had sent shock-waves across the nation. Chandigarh Tribune revisits the series of events and travels back into time when the case made headlines on January 21, 2004. The escape (intervening night of January 21 and 22, 2004): Four inmates of the Model Jail, Burail, Chandigarh, made a sensational escape from barrack number 7 of the prison on the intervening night of January 21 and 22, 2004. Three of the four escapees were identified as Jagtar Singh Hawara, Jagtar Singh Tara and Paramjit Singh Bheora, assassins of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. The fourth was their cook, a murder accused, Devi Singh. Present situation (March 2015): A few arrests, including that of Hawara and Bheora, a few failures (Devi Singh has never been arrested and Tara was arrested in January this year), over 260 hearings in courts, scores of witnesses examined and yet the case continues to hang fire in the district courts. There are a total of 21 accused in the case. While one had died during the course of trial, the other accused, Gurwinder Singh Goldy, was also declared a proclaimed offender after he failed to appear in the court following his bail. Two of the accused were discharged by the court. Five of the accused were officials of the Burail Jail. All of them are under suspension ever since. The digging of tunnel: The four escapees, three of whom were assassins of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, escaped in the wee hours of January 22, 2004, from the high-security Burail Model Jail in their third suspected attempt by digging a 104-foot tunnel beneath three walled security rings. Jagtar Singh Hawara, Jagtar Singh Tara, Paramjit Singh Beora and their cook Devi Singh, lodged in the same cell number 7 of Munda Khana Barrack, were found missing from the jail, putting the Chandigarh Police and that of the neighbouring states on high alert. Devi Singh from Garhwal was lodged in the jail in connection with a murder in Sector 39 of the city. They dug up a 2.5-foot-wide and 94-foot-long tunnel beneath their cell, then under the barracks and another 14 ft under the third security wall. After coming out of the tunnel, they possibly crawled a distance of around 50 ft when the electricity of the jail failed twice and there was a blackout,” recalls a jail official. In the cell, the entry point to the tunnel was covered by a back rest of the chair. The exit point in the fields was covered by a wooden board on which carrots were grown. The entry point of the tunnel was where Hawara used to sleep. The cemented platform had a diameter of 2.5 ft and was 14 ft deep. Third attempt: It was the third attempt of Beant Singh’s murder accused to escape the jail. They allegedly tried to escape on July 7, 1998, and then in 2002. The police, however, could not prove the charge against them. Sources said it seemed that the terrorists chalked plans for years and then finally started the work at least a year prior to the escape. How the tunnel failed to catch the eye of police: While the preparation started a year ago, Hawara and Bheora had been putting up resistance against inspectors saying they were Amritdhari Sikhs and entry of others in the cell would defile the area. They kept disposing of mud with water in toilet, bathroom and kitchen. They had the facilities as they were B Class prisoners. They also put up curtains in front of cupboards. As many as 40 bags full of earth were found hidden behind the curtains. The tunnel was dug up under a road inside the jail and 9-ft-wide foundation of the wall. A weightlifting rod was found in the cell with one side of it having mud indicating it might have been used to dig the tunnel. They crawled in the open for more than 50 ft before scaling a wall. The wall bore foot marks. Two T-shirts were lying there indicating they might have changed their clothes in the open. How the digging went unnoticed: The four used to keep the water tap running round the clock to keep the digging work under wraps. The water was also used to soften the soil in the tunnel. They used turbans as ropes to go inside the tunnel during the digging activity. A bulb and a wire, possibly used while carrying out work at night, were also found from the spot after they escaped. The television was on till 3 am on that night. The information about their escape came at 8.15 am How the escape came to light: As per the FIR registered in the case, DS Rana, the then superintendent of the jail, was informed in the morning about the escape. He filed a complaint with the police and a case was registered. The exit point of the tunnel was noticed at 7 am. Twice that night, there was a blackout in the jail. A police source said during investigations, it was found that another accused Narain Singh Chaura had meddled with the electricity wires from outside the jail to help the escapees. The police had then launched a massive search and also questioned the jail inmates about the escape. While Hawara and Tara were re-arrested and are at present lodged in the Tihar Jail, Tara was recently arrested by the Thailand police and deported to India. He was produced in the Chandigarh court which had declined his custody to the police. Involvement of jail officials: Five jail officials (all suspended and facing trial) were among the accused in the case. Interestingly, the then superintendent, DS Rana, who is named as the complainant in the FIR, was later arrested as an accused. His counsel advocate Amar Singh Chahal said the officials were arrested for negligence. Apart from Rana, the then Deputy Superintendent DS Sandhu, Assistant Superintendent PS Rana, Deputy Superintendent VM Gill and warder Inder Singh were booked for conspiring with the accused to facilitate the escape. How Hawara and Bheora landed in police net again: Hawara’s arrest came after the twin blasts in Delhi on May 22, 2005, in Satyam Multiplex at Patel Nagar and Liberty Cinema on Rohtak Road. The blast claimed two lives and injured many when BKI activists detonated two bombs. Although there were speculations that he was arrested from outside Punjabi University in Patiala, police records stated that he was arrested by the special cell of the Delhi Police from Delhi on July 7, 2005. Bheora was arrested on March 23, 2006, by the special cell of the Delhi Police while they were planning to set up base in Delhi. The police had traced him after he contacted Harjeet Singh Gill, Babbar Khalsa chief in the US. Bheora had taken over the BKI after Hawara’s arrest a year before. As per the statements given by the Delhi Police after his arrest, a trap was laid on GT Karnal Road in Delhi. Around 6 am, Bheora, along with Jasbir Singh and Bhupinder Singh, were arrested after an exchange of fire. Four kilograms of RDX, three detonators, one remote control device along with a wireless set, one timer, three pistols, 39 live cartridges and three fired cartridges were recovered from their possession. They were travelling in a stolen Santro car.
