Verdict in court built to try Op Blue Star militants

JODHPUR:THE special TADA court in Jodhpur Central Jail, where the verdict in the Asaram sexual assault case will be delivered, was built in 1985 to try accused Sikh militants after Operation Blue Star. The seven-day military operation was carried out in 1984 to take control of Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar and to flush out militants, including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, holed up inside the gurdwara.

Former jailer of Jodhpur Central Jail, Himmat Singh, remembers there were 364 accused lodged in Jodhpur prison and were tried in this special jail in the erstwhile ward number 2. The court stopped functioning in 1988 after the then Punjab government withdrew cases against the accused and the 364 were released. The fast-track court tried cases under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, the anti-terrorism law that was in force between 1985 and 1995 in the backdrop of the Punjab insurgency.

“The courtroom is 30m by 30m and is 25m from the main entrance to the prison on the left,” Singh said. “It is very close to the barrack where Asaram is lodged.”

The offices of the court staff were converted into two barracks after the court stopped functioning, the former jailer said. Asaram is lodged in one of these barracks.

“The courtroom has a dais for the judge and two docks in place. Other facilities were removed after 1988 but these remained there until I retired from the jail in 2001,” Singh added.