Chandigarh, March 19
Just a week before the blast, the Chandigarh Police had stopped two assassins of Punjab’s former Chief Minister Beant Singh for violating traffic rules. But, let them off.

The Central Bureau of Investigation’s counsel SK Saxena and RK Handa made the revelation during the hearing of appeals filed by the assassins against their conviction and sentence, including death penalty.

An assistant sub-inspector waved at two of the assassins to stop on August 24, 1995, for traffic violation. But, allowed them to go after issuing a challan.

Former Chief Minister Beant Singh and 11 others were killed in the explosion outside the Punjab civil secretariat on August 31, 1995. Human bomb Dilawar Singh too was killed in the blast.

Two of the assassins, Jagtar Singh Hawara and Balwant Singh, face the gallows. Three other convicts, Shamsher Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Lakhwinder Singh, have been sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court. As the appeals came up for hearing before the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s Division Bench of Justices Mehtab Singh Gill and Arvind Kumar, the CBI counsel said ASI Arun Kumar had stopped the scooter, PB-11-1955, as the number plate was “not written according to the specification”.

Human Bomb Dilawar Singh was using the scooter, but at the time of the traffic violation Balwant Singh was riding the two-wheeler and Hawara was sitting on the pillion seat. As the number plate was not in order, a challan was issued to Balwant Singh. The cop later identified the two convicts, the CBI said in defence counsel Baldev Singh’s presence.

Just over two days after the blast, the convicts started chattering about their involvement in the offence. The high court heard that Lakhwinder Singh and Balwant Singh told people around that Dilawar Singh had been killed in the blast.

The CBI counsel said Balwant Singh on September 2, 1995, narrated the details of the entire conspiracy to acquaintance Tejinder Pal Singh and his friend Gurpreet Singh at Amba Kheri Lake in Nagpur.