Jagtar Singh Hawara

Jagtar Singh Hawara (born 16 May 1973) is a high level member of Babbar Khalsa who is currently serving life imprisonment at Tihar Jail. He was convicted as a conspirator in the assassination of 12th Chief Minister of Punjab, Beant Singh.

Jagtar Singh Hawara
Born
Jagtar Singh

(1973-05-16) 16 May 1973
Hawara, Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab, India
CitizenshipIndian
OrganizationBabbar Khalsa
Known forAssassination of Beant Singh, 12th Chief Minister of Punjab
2004 Burail jailbreak[1]
Being declared Jathedar of the Akal Takht by a Sarbat Khalsa[2]
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
TitleJathedar
MovementKhalistan movement
Dharam Yudh Morcha
Criminal statusin prison
Spouse
Balwinder Kaur
​
​
(m. 2005; ann. 2006)​
Conviction(s)Assassination (2007)
Criminal chargeAssassination (murder)
PenaltyLife imprisonment
Capture status
Arrested
Partner(s)Balwant Singh Rajoana
Dilawar Singh Babbar
Escaped2004
Escape end2005
CommentsRecaptured in Delhi
Details
VictimsBeant Singh and 16 others[3]
Imprisoned atTihar Jail, New Delhi, India[4]

Hawara was declared as the Jathedar of the Akal Takht by a Sarbat Khalsa organised at village of Chabba on the outskirts of Amritsar, however this declaration is disputed and unrecognised by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).

Early life

Jagtar Singh Hawara was born on 17 May 1970, at Hawara, a small village in Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab. His mother's name is Narinder Kaur.[5]

Criminal record

Murder accusations

In 1988 Hawara was accused murdering the granthi of a Gurdwara in Chamkaur Sahib. He would be acquitted on the charge.[6]

He also was accused of killing special police officer Sunil Kumar at Shaheedi Jor Mela at Chamkaur Sahib on 21 December 1992. However he was acquitted of the charge in February 2017.[7][8][9]

Assassination of 12th Chief Minister of Punjab

Hawara was charged in the assassination of 12th Chief Minister of Punjab, Beant Singh.[10] On 31 August 1995, Dilawar Singh Babbar, a human bomb assassinated Beant Singh by blowing up his bullet-proof car at the Punjab and Haryana Civil Secretariat, Chandigarh.[11] Seventeen people were killed and fifteen others injured.[3]

In 2007, he was convicted was given death penalty after a trial in Chandigarh court.[4] Hawara appealed to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which in October 2010 converted his death penalty to life imprisonment. Hawara further appealed the case in the Supreme Court of India, where it is currently pending.[12]

2004 Burail jailbreak

In 2004, Hawara came back into the limelight when he escaped from maximum security jail at Burail, along with two other Sikh prisoners by digging a 90 feet tunnel with his bare hands.[13][14] He was recaptured in 2005 from Delhi.[3] He is imprisoned at Tihar Jail, New Delhi.[4]

Declared Jathedar by 2015 Sarbat Khalsa

On 10 November 2015, Jagtar Singh Hawara was declared to be replacing Gurbachan Singh as the interim Jathedar of Akal Takht by a Sarbat Khalsa organised at Chabba village on the outskirts of Amritsar, Punjab by Sikh organisations.[15] It also declared Dhian Singh Mand as an interim Jathedar of Akal Takht. It demanded all the current Jathedars including Gurbachan Singh be removed.[16] The SGPC president at that time, Avtar Singh Makkar, however condemned the convening as against the principles of Sikhism and its decisions were null and void. He added that the removal of Jathedar came under Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 and no one could challenge the SGPC's authority.[17]

Personal life

In 2005, Hawara married Balwinder Kaur, daughter of Dara Singh at a Gurdwara in village Dohla. On 3 March 2006, Balwinder Kaur's petition for annulment of marriage was an adjourned. Kaur claimed to had stayed with Sahib Singh (alias of Hawara) for just 11 days, after which she was dropped off at her parents’ house where Hawara stayed for a day.[18]

References
  1. "Court convicts Hawara, Bheora in Burail jail-break case". The Hindu. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  2. Gopal, Navjeevan; Brar, Kamaldeep Singh (11 November 2015). "Radicals 'appoint' Beant killer Jagtar Singh Hawara as Akal Takht chief". The Indian Express. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  3. "Babbar Khalsa militant Jagtar Singh Hawara produced in Ropar court". The Economic Times. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  4. "Hawara acquitted in 95' RDX recovery case". Hindustan Times. 23 November 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  5. "Jagtar Singh Hawara Bio". In.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  6. "Jagtar Hawara acquitted in 1991 attempt-to-murder case". Hindustan Times. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  7. "Jagtar Singh Hawara acquitted in 1992 murder case". Times of India. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  8. Punjab News Line Archived 7 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Babbar Khalsa International "Roundup"". 26 July 2005. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  10. "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Main News". Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  11. "Babbar Khalsa International". Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  12. "How Beant Singh's assassin got 'life' on Guru Nanak's birth anniversary". The Week. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  13. www.punjabnewsline.com https://web.archive.org/web/20080513071931/http://www.punjabnewsline.com/content/view/5102/38/. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. "The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories". Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  15. Correspondent, HT. "Sarbat Khalsa appoints Jagtar Singh Hawara as Akal Takht jathedar". No. 10 November 2015. Hindustan Times. Retrieved 10 November 2015. A congregation organised by Sikh organisations at Amritsar on Tuesday 'removed' five Sikh head priests and appointed Jagtar Singh Hawara, a convict in the Beant Singh assassination case, as jathedar
  16. Harkirat Singh; Aseem Bassi (12 November 2015). "Interim Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Dhian Singh Mand detained". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  17. At Sarbat Khalsa, hardliners appoint Hawara Akal Takht Jathedar
  18. Report, Bureau. "Sangrur court annuls marriage Jagtar Singh Hawara". Zee News. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
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