THE jigsaw puzzle is finally falling into place. So say the UT police who claim to have arrested the main conspirator behind the daring Burail jailbreak.
The kingpin, say the police, is 48-year-old Narain Singh Chaura, former chief of Akal Federation and a Pakistan-trained terrorist. Terming him as the prime conspirator, IG Rajesh Kumar today said he facilitated the escape of the Beant assassination accused. ‘‘He was involved in the escape plan for over a year now. In the last few months, he visited the jail 12 times,’’ said the IG at a press conference today.
Chaura and Jagtar Singh Hawara were in constant touch through mobile phones. Hawara had a mobile phone in his cell for the last many years, admitted the police. ‘‘On the night of the escape, Chaura waited outside the jail toward Mohali with a car,’’ said IG Kumar.
‘‘The final planning began on January 16, when Chaura, accompanied by Maj Gen Narinder Singh (retd) from Sector 27 and an unidentified couple, went to meet Hawara in jail. Defence counsel Arunjeev Singh Walia also accompanied them,’’ said the IG. ‘‘They delivered 3 kg of dry fruit and a bundle of cloth, approximately 42 metres long saying that these were turbans. The police later found the same turbans inside the tunnel,’’ he added.
Chaura and the Maj Gen went to meet Hawara again the next day, said the police. Hawara asked Chaura to meet a woman, who would be carrying a red handkerchief for identification, at a gurdwara in Mohali the same day, added the police. ‘‘When Chaura met the woman, Hawara called on her cellphone and told him to attend a marriage at Guru Asra Trust in Mohali on January 18. The president of this trust — Kanwar Pal Dhami — is also being questioned,’’ said IG Kumar.
‘‘At the wedding, where the woman was also present, Hawara called again and told Chaura to buy himself a new mobile phone and a sim card,’’ IG Kumar said. Chaura was also told to buy six iron chains and tie stones on them to fiddle with the main feeder line to the jail, the IG added.
Then came the night of the escape: January 21. ‘‘Chaura got a call from Hawara to position himself near the jail around 8:30pm. The escape was planned between 9pm and 10pm. It was a moonless night, amavas,’’ said the IG. At 9pm, Chaura threw the chain on the main wires of the feeder line causing a total blackout in Burail. It took 10 minutes to get the generator working. By that time, the four prisoners were gone.
Refraining to comment on the status of investigation, the IG said: ‘‘The case is under investigation.’’ In the evening, R S Bains, chairman, Punjab Human Rights Commission, sent a press release saying the UT police were keeping Chaura in illegal detention. Sources say Chaura’s arrest was shown under pressure of a habeas corpus raid. Chaura was not brought before the media.
Chapter: Chaura
CHAURA has been to Pakistan twice for terrorist training and is an expert in guerrilla warfare, say the police. A resident of village Chaura, Dera Baba Nanak, District Gurdaspur, Chaura was in Pakistan for almost 10 years till 1995. Since his return to India, he has allegedly been trying to revive militancy. He has also authored books on guerrilla warfare and speeches of Bhindranwale under the title Sikh Garj and has also been subscribing to pro-militant magazines being published in India and abroad, say the police. Chaura was also responsible for launching a subversive radio programme, Punjabi Durbar in the 1990s, they add.
Cell in cell
IN November 2002, a mobile phone was seized from Hawara inside the jail. Because no further action was taken, police say another mobile phone reached Hawara soon using which he conspired with his associates outside the jail. Meanwhile, on January 17, the suspended jail superintendent wrote to the UT police informing them of repeated visits by Chaura. The police, it seems, slept over it. Four days later, Hawara and three others escaped.