Panjab Opposes Hawara’s Prison Transfer; Raids Stir Political Tensions

The state government on 4 Feb strongly opposed incarcerated Jagtar Singh Hawara’s Supreme Court of India (SCI) plea requesting transfer from Tihar Jail, New Delhi to a Panjab prison. Citing intelligence concerns and a 2015 advisory about relocating sensitive convicts to a ‘border and sensitive state,’ Panjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh reminded the SCI Bench that Hawara’s earlier petition in 2018 was dismissed and insisted he ‘cannot claim Panjab,’ only perhaps Chandigarh, if at all. Meanwhile, the Patiala House court in Delhi granted bail to UK national Inderpal Singh Gaba, accused in 2023 of vandalising the Indian High Commission in London, stating no direct evidence linked him to violence or secessionist activity. Though the prosecution alleged extremist inclinations based on photos of Gaba posing with an AK-47 and a license plate reading ‘KHALI5TAN,’ the court ruled the images inconclusive and found Gaba’s alleged presence limited to a separate protest. In another incident, former Panjab Indian National Congress (INC) legislator Kulbir Singh Zira claimed he was chased by unidentified gunmen and shot at six times while en route from Ferozepur to Zira. Although he escaped unhurt, Zira asserts having received threats before, prompting Panjab INC president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring to slam the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for creating a ‘haven for gangsters.’ Meanwhile, the Income Tax Department on 6 Feb raided houses linked to Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh in Kapurthala, Jalandhar, and Chandigarh. An ex-Cabinet minister in Panjab who oversaw power and irrigation, Rana Gurjeet was previously embroiled in controversies related to sand mining contracts, forcing his resignation in 2018. His continuing political clout was evident when he and his son both secured victory in the 2022 Panjab Assembly elections.