Chandigarh, November 11
Exposing chinks in the police security of late Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh’s assassins, a group of right wing activists today attacked dreaded Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Jagtar Singh Hawara on the premises of the district courts in Sector 17 here.

The attack occurred around 11 am while Hawara and the other convicted assassin Paramjit Singh Bheora were being escorted by a posse of the Chandigarh and Delhi police to the courtroom in connection with a Burail jailbreak case. Both convicts had been specially brought here from the Tihar Jail in New Delhi.

Eyewitnesses said just as Hawara crossed the entry gate of the court complex, Nishant Sharma, an Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Suraksha Samiti (ABHSS) activist, hit him with his head. Hawara responded by slapping Sharma. The police immediately arrested Sharma and three other ABHSS activists.

The incident was followed by Hawara and Bheora raising pro-Khalistan slogans and the ABHSS members raising patriotic slogans.

Following the attack, a large police contingent was deployed on the court premises.

Both Hawara and Bheora were then taken to the courtroom where DSP Jagbir Singh and Sub-Inspector Surinder Kumar, both from the Chandigarh Police, recorded their statements.

Hawara’s advocate Simarjit Singh was quick to term the incident as a serious breach of security along with the claim that the attack had been planned well in advance. Sector 17 police station SHO Inspector Ranjodh Singh said they had registered an FIR and arrested seven persons, including Nishant Sharma.

Incidentally, Sharma is a complainant against PS Sandhu, an Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of the Punjab Police in a corruption case being investigated by the CBI.