Twenty-five years on, the verdict in one of the biggest bank robberies in the country’s history is out. The special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) court on Tuesday awarded 10-year imprisonment to former Khalistan Commando Force militant Daljit Singh Bittu and 11 others under the TADA.

The court of additional sessions judge Sunil Kumar Arora also awarded them seven-year imprisonment for robbery besides slapping a fine of Rs. 5,000 each on them. The imprisonments will run concurrently.

The others who have been awarded the sentence are Gursharan Singh Gama, Asa Singh, Sewa Singh, Mann Singh, Harjinder Singh, Balwinder Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Avtar Singh, Gurjant Singh, Saroop Singh and Mohan Singh. One of the convicts, Asa Singh, is now 93.

The convicts were produced before the court here amid tight security.

The convicts posing as policemen had robbed the Millerganj branch of Punjab National Bank here of Rs. 5.7 crore on February 13, 1987, in order to buy arms.

The accused were out on bail barring Bittu, who has been facing another trial for allegedly threatening witnesses in the Shingaar bomb blast case here and for hiding weapons. Bittu has been lodged in the Nabha jail.