Jalandhar, June 4
Daljit Singh Bittu, president of the Shiromani Dal Khalsa and a former chief of the All-India Sikh Students Federation, and his associate Gurcharan Singh Gama were sentenced to life imprisonment by a Special Tada Court headed by Additional Sessions Judge S.K. Garg here today.

They were nominated as accused by the police on April 24, 1996, after conducting a probe in killing of Ashok Bedi, a son of former police officer Raj Kishan Bedi. Ashok Bedi, who was running an auto centre in Bhai Bala chowk of Ludhiana, was allegedly killed by two unidentified persons who had sprayed bullets on him from close range.

The incident, which had taken place on night of June 10, 1986, had also left four friends of Ashok Bedi injured and separate cases had been registered in the Police Division No. 5 of Ludhiana under TADA, the Arms Act and Sections 302 and 307 of the IPC.

Both Bittu and Gama were arrested from Nurpur Bedi in 1996.

Handing over the sentence, Mr Garg sentenced them to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2000 in a case registered under Section 302 of the IPC. They were sentenced to seven years plus a fine of Rs 2000 in the case registered under Section 307 of the IPC and to 10 years of imprisonment in the TADA case. They would have to pay a fine of Rs 2000 in the TADA case also and failure of payment of fine could result in a six months’ in jail for them.

The judgement was pronounced by the court amides tight security arrangements.

Earlier, an eyewitness had identified Bittu and Gama as accused.