M A I N   N E W S

Mann charged under TADA
Gave pro-Khalistan speech in 1991: Judge

New Delhi, February 22
A Delhi court today framed charges against Akali Dal (Amritsar) President and Lok Sabha member Simranjit Singh Mann under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for inciting people to create an independent, sovereign state in the name of Khalistan in 1991.

The charges were framed by designated judge S.N. Dhingra under Section 4 (2) of TADA and Section 124 A of the IPC for his speech delivered at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib on April 7, 1991.

Mr Mann, who was present in the court, pleaded not guilty and appealed to go for trial.

In his order, the judge said: “By a speech made by you on April 7, 1991, at Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, Delhi, you supported the claim of an independent, sovereign state in the name of Khalistan and incited people for raising arms for the creation of Khalistan.’’

“In your speech, you had raised a war against India and the Government of India and attempted to excite hatred and disloyalty against the government,’’ Mr Dhingra said in his two-page order.

At the height of militancy in Punjab in the early 1990s, Mr Mann, a former IPS officer, had started a campaign for the creation of Khalistan. He resigned from the Indian Police Service in protest against Operation Bluestar in 1984. UNI, PTI