Beant Singh’s assassin’s death sentence commuted

The union home ministry has decided to commute the death sentence of Balwant Singh Rajoana, who was convicted for the assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, to life imprisonment. Beant Singh, credited for ending terrorism in Punjab, was assassinated on 31 August, 1995. “A decision has been taken to commute the death sentence of Balwant Singh Rajoana. The process of issuing a formal notification is underway,” a home ministry official said. On 31 August, 1995, the then chief minister Beant Singh was killed in an explosion outside the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh. Sixteen others also lost their lives in the terror attack in which Punjab police employee Dilawar Singh had acted as a human bomb.