Chandigarh, Jan 22: Taking a leaf out of a Bollywood thriller, three men standing trial in the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and another inmate made good their escape by digging a nearly 100 feet long tunnel in the high security Burail Jail here, police sources said today.
The jailbreak was discovered this morning when the prison staff did not find the three accused and their helper in the barrack where they were lodged.
The three -- Jagtar Singh Hawara, Jagtar Singh Tara and Paramjit Singh -- and their helper Ved Singh fled the prison through the tunnel from their barrack to a spot outside the prison breaching a multi-tier security cordon sometime after the staff check last night, the sources said.
The three are among nine accused in the assassination case of Beant Singh, who was killed by a human bomb outside the Punjab and Haryana secretariat on August 31, 1995.
Seventeen others also perished in the blast, as Dilawar Singh a police constable blew himself up by using a car identical to the official vehicles in the chief minister's motorcade.
Chandigarh Police has alerted neighbouring states, including Punjab and Delhi. A close watch is being kept on railway stations, airports and places known to the escapees.
Describing the incident as "unfortunate," Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh expressed hope that the escapees would soon be nabbed.
Counsel for the accused Amarjit Singh Chahal, however, alleged that digging a tunnel inside the high security prison was "unbelievable" and that the incident had been "cooked up" by the authorities.
Bureau Report
