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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, February 26: A special court has convicted two persons accused in a March-1991 bomb blast, which killed 16 persons and injured 56. Three others Kartar Singh, Kirpal Singh and Kuldip Singh of the five accused have been acquitted, since the prosecution could not establish their involvement in the conspiracy. They were arrested under the (Prevention of) Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) Act. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) R.C. Yaduvanshi sentenced Harjinder Singh and Surjit Singh to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for criminal conspiracy. The two have also been ordered to pay a fine of Rs 1,000 each.
On March 23, 1991, two bombs ripped through a local market in Khayala, west Delhi. Since it was Ramnauvi, the market was full of people stocking up for the festival. One high intensity bomb went off blowing a crater in the ground and barely 150 yards away, another bomb exploded.
Harjinder was arrested on March 27, 1991 from ISBT. Upon interrogation, the police found that he had married the second convict, Surjit Singh’s mother. The latter had been killed in the 1984 riots. They, reportedly, shifted to the Tilak Vihar house in 1986.
With information from Harjinder, the police were able to recover the raw material the accused used to make the bomb. They also found a rubber stamp with an inscription. The investigators found Kartar Singh’s name on the inscription — he had been shown as the lieutenant general of the Khalistan Commando Force.
The police arrested Surjit Singh on April 19, 1991, Kirpal Singh on September 21, 1991 and finally Kuldip Singh on December 12, 1991. All the five accused persons were charged with criminal conspiracy under various sections of TADA. According to the prosecution, Harjinder Singh, Kartar Singh — who was seriously injured in the blast — and Satpal Singh arrived in Delhi on March 17, 1991, with a bag containing RDX.
The prosecution produced 100 witnesses during the trial. Kirpal Singh and Kuldip Singh were given “the benefit of the doubt”. ASJ Yaduvanshi added: “and as far as Kartar Singh is concerned, the only evidence against him is that Harjinder Singh pointed him out in the hospital. He had lost his leg in the blast”.
