MHA may re-examine Beant killer case

“Since Rajaona has refused to petition any authority for clemency, Home Ministry has decided to look into his case afresh. Since Tara has been extradited from Thailand and is presently in the custody of Punjab Police, new facts could emerge in the case. Even if there is a fraction of a chance that Rajaona was involved in the assassination case, the entire case has to be relooked into,” said a senior home ministry official.

Tara, a co-accused in the case, was facing trial for allegedly assassinating Beant Singh when he escaped along with three others through a tunnel dug inside the jail, where they were lodged in 2004. Two of the three others have been arrested, while the third is still at large.

In 2012, when a local court fixed the date for Rajoana’s hanging, Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal and his son and Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal had sought clemency for him and petitioned the President, who had forwarded the request to the Home Ministry for examination.