JALANDHAR: The shell-shocked parents of Constable Lakh winder Singh, once of the accused in the Beant assassination case, still believe that their son is innocent and had become a pawn in the hands of militants.
Huddled with his family in his government quarter in the PAP complex here, Sub Inspector Darshan Singh, father of the accused, admits that the alleged human bomb Dilawar and his son had been steadying together in a school at Patiala rill their matriculation. Besides, their families were residents of Guru Nanak Nagar, Patiala. Darshan Singh, however, docent’s remember Jagtar, the alleged masiocmind in the crime, ever visiting their house in Patiala or Solandhar, The family shifted to Jalandhar PAP complex some three years ago. Talking about Dilawar, Darshan Singh said that he had an emotional nature and fell strongly about the “treatment meted out to the Sikhs in the country.”
Darshan Singh is firm on defending his son in the court of Jaw despite the alleged threat by ‘one of the CBI DSPs, who interrogated him, to liquidate the family. Denying her son’s involvement in the assassination, Lakhwinder’s mother argues that had he been involved, he would have fled the scene of crime and pot remained on duty.
Darshan Singh and his younger son, Hardey Singh, were summoned from Berighat near Chamba in Himachal Pardesh where the SI was posted along with his battalion. They were sent to the CBI office in Chandigarh for interrogation where the CBI wanted the father to impress upon his son to admit that the money discovered in his bank account and the fixed deposits, amounting to Rs 3.90 lakh, was sent by the Babbar Khalsa International for executing the operation, His parents claim that he had collected the money by defrauding the government while issuing petrol slips to the official vehicles. But according to a senior officer of the Punjab police, Lakha was definitely involved in the crime since the alleged human bomb was an old classmate of his. He reasons that Dilawar had been a frequent visitor to Lakha’s rented room in Kansal village pear Chandigarh. Jagtar Hawara lias Taarl too had been visiting him.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 15, 1995
