Court convicts Hawara, Bheora in Burari jail-break case

A court here today convicted militant outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) chief Jagtar Singh Hawara and BKI India chief Paramjit Singh Bheora but acquitted 14 other accused in the sensational Burail jailbreak case of 2004.
The trial court said Hawara and Bheora had already undergone their sentence.
Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Anubhav Sharma in his order concluded "the prosecution has miserably failed to prove a big conspiracy involving all the accused and the conspiracies amongst them inter-se.
"Especially with regard to accused jail officials, it can be observed that they did not have an independent will much less culpable will which can be attributed an intention for the purpose of section 217 (public servant disobeying law to save a person from punishment) and 222 (intentional omission by public servant to apprehend a person under sentence) of IPC," Sharma said.

Hawara, Bheora, Tara and a murder convict Devi Singh had escaped from Chandigarh's high-security Burail Jail in January 2004 by digging a nearly 100-feet long tunnel.
The CJM said "with regard to escapee accused facing trial Jagtar Singh Hawara and Paramjit Singh Bheora, nothing substantial was argued, rather they could have no defence. The very fact that they escaped and were re-arrested is sufficient to prove their guilt with regard to offence under Section 224 of IPC.

"However, with regard to conspiracy, certainly the escapees were in conspiracy with each other for digging the tunnel and breaking the jail. Apart from that, their conspiracy with any other accused is not proved," the Court said in its 123-page order.

The CJM further said "the only conclusion that can be drawn from the above discussion is that the prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt against all the accused, except Jagtar Singh Hawara and Paramjit Singh Bheora.
Hence, all the accused except Jagtar Singh Hawara and Paramjit Singh Bheora, stands acquitted from the charges leveled against them. Their bail bond surety bonds stand discharged."
The order said that accused Jagtar Singh Hawara and Paramjit Singh Bheora are held guilty for commission of offence u/s 224 (resistance or obstruction to lawful apprehension) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC.