Ex-warder wants his statements recorded again

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 1

In yet another twist in the jailbreak case, a former jail warder, who had earlier turned hostile, today moved the court seeking that his statements be recorded afresh.

The former jail warder, Ram Meher, stated that his statements were earlier recorded in January 2013. He alleged that the statements had been manipulated by the defence counsel.

The former jail warder stated in the application that he wished to state that despite having knowledge of suspicious activities of the accused, the jail authorities lent him a deaf ear and failed to shift them from the barracks, thus facilitating the jailbreak.

He said the warders on duty had sensed suspicious activities in barrack number 7 in which Hawara, Bheora, Tara and Devi Singh were lodged. He added that he had informed jail superintendent DS Rana, deputy jail superintendent DS Sandhu, assistant jail superintendent PS Rana, chakkar havildar Nissan Singh and barrack in charge Inderjeet.

He added that the barrack was checked, but the authorities surprisingly did not feel the need to shift the accused from the barrack, which facilitated the jailbreak. He said he was declared a hostile witness as his statements were tampered with and thus he wished to record these again.

The case has now been adjourned to April 15.

Defence counsel Terminder Singh filed a reply to the application and stated that it should be dismissed.

He said the evidence was recorded by the then CJM as per the version stated by him and the APP and other advocates did not have any role except asking him questions which he answered and said that these were only delaying tactics.

“It is thus prayed that the application may kindly be dismissed in the interests of justice,” said the reply. It was also stated in the reply that the application was not maintainable and there was no question of any manipulation by any advocate or public prosecutor.

Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) chief Jagtar Singh Hawara and BKI India operations chief Paramjit Singh Bheora and two of their accomplices — Jagtar Singh Tara and Devi Singh — had escaped from Burail Jail in January 2004 by digging a tunnel. Meanwhile, filing a reply to the application moved by the prosecution to re-invoke charges of waging of war against the accused, advocate Terminder Singh, one of the defence counsel, said the charges had been dropped by the court and thus could not be re-invoked.

He said the CJM in December 5, 2008, and later the Additional District and Sessions Judge had dropped the charges, which were upheld by the High Court. Thus the application was also not maintainable.