Provide treatment to Jagtar Singh Hawara; High Court asks Tihar official

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court today asked Tihar Jail Superintendent to provide proper medical care to Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Jagtar Singh Hawara, the mastermind in the killing of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in 1995.
A bench of Justice Pratibha Rani also said that the jail authority should take him to the AIIMS, after his counsel alleged that Hawara is in "critical condition" and the officials have been making excuses for denying the medical treatment.

Hawara, along with five others, had also been awarded seven years jail term in the 2005 Liberty and Satyam cinema blasts case of May 22, 2005.

In 2004, Hawara had escaped from maximum security jail at Burail in Punjab along with 2 other Sikh prisoners by digging a 90-feet tunnel with his bare hands.

During the hearing, CBI today opposed Hawara's plea saying that he is undergoing treatment inside Tihar jail and the doctors are also visiting him regularly.

The agency also claimed that if Hawara is taken to AIIMS, he may flee from their custody.

The court, however, turned down CBI's submission and said if the man is not well, he should be given treatment in "proper security".

Hawara, in his plea, has said he has a serious back pain and he can barely stand for a few minutes without support.

"Not giving treatment to him (Hawara) is a clear violation of human rights," Hawara's counsel said.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court had on October, 12, 2010 commuted the death penalty of Hawara and sentenced him to life imprisonment "till death" in the chief minister's murder case.

17 persons, including the then CM, were killed and 15 others were injured in the incident.