Self-styled commander of a terror outfit by choice and a taxi driver by profession, Jagtar Singh ‘Tara’ has finally been nabbed from Thailand after steering clear of the law for years together following his involvement in former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh’s assassination. He was on the go after breaking a jail in Chandigarh, but was arrested on a tip-off by the Punjab police on Monday.
Tara is expected to be deported to India within a month as the Thailand authorities completed the process of seeking permission for his deportation on Tuesday, and the rest of the formalities would take a month’s time. Absconding following his escape from Chandigarh’s Burail Jail in 2004, Tara was believed to be working in tandem with other radicals abroad with the aim of once again causing unrest in Punjab. Reports suggested that he was playing an active role in trying to revive militancy in Punjab and the neighbouring States.
Monitoring their activities and latest developments, the state police authorities were reportedly keeping a close tab on the radicals abroad who are buckling down with the militants here. And Tara’s arrest is the fruit of the efforts in the same direction. Thailand police and military officers captured Tara, wanted in several cases including Beant Singh assassination case, Burail jail-break case, from the house of a member of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) in Pattaya on Monday evening after a tip off by the Punjab police. Thai authorities identified him as Gurmeet Singh, son of Kaka Singh — name with which he was possessing a Pakistani passport.
Sources informed The Pioneer that Tara was in Bangkok since past eight months, and was giving training in arms and making human bomb at Phi Phi Island near Bangkok. It has been learnt that they were planning to target prominent politicians and VIPs in Punjab. Besides, as a part of their strategy, they were eyeing the unemployed youth of the state for their team. The similar reports were received by the intelligence agencies two years back. Thai Police were alerted in October last year that Tara might be headed for Thailand.
Tara was one of the masterminds in Beant Singh assassination. He was the one who had purchased an Ambassador car, which was later used in the commission of the crime. Then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, along with 17 others, was killed in a human bomb blast outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat on August 31, 1995. Arrested and sentenced for life in 1996, Tara made an escape in 2004 from Chandigarh’s high security jail along with three others — Paramjit Singh Bheora, Jagtar Singh Hawara, Devi Singh — through a tunnel on January 22. In March, he managed to sneak into Pakistan with a fake passport. It has been learnt that over the period of his stay, Tara came in touch with one Harminder Singh Bittu, with whom he formed Khalistan Tiger Force.