A Chandigarh special court held Jagtar Singh Tara guilty in the assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, and sentenced him to life imprisonment, reported ANI .
According to The Indian Express, Beant Singh was killed in a bomb blast outside Punjab and Haryana secretariat on 31 August 1995.
Jagtar Singh told the court that he does not regret killing Beant Singh, and added that he has been fighting the battle of Sikh’s “freedom” and will continue to do so.
Jagtar Singh’s lawyer told ANI:
Jagtar Singh Tara told the court in writing: “If by killing a cruel person I can save thousands of innocent people then it is not wrong”.
CBI had posed a list of 162 questions to the Jagtar Singh. During the hearing in the case in January, he confessed to assassinating former Punjab chief minister and said he had no regrets.
He cited Shaheed Udham Singh, who assassinated Michael O’Dwyer, as his inspiration behind the killing, The Indian Express report added.
Jagtar Singh had recorded a six-page confession letter to the court under Section 313 of the CrPC during the proceedings held at the Burail jail.
According to Hindustan Times , Jagtar Singh had fled jail after which non-bailable warrants were issued against him in February, 2004. He was declared a proclaimed offender in May in the same year.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times, Indian Express.)
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