Beant Singh's assassin Tara to challenge extradition

Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a US-based rights group, has hired top Thai attorneys to help former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh's assassin and Khalistan Tiger Force commander Jagtar Singh Tara challenge the Thai criminal court's order to extradite him to India.

Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a US-based rights group, has hired top Thai attorneys to help former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh's assassin and Khalistan Tiger Force commander Jagtar Singh Tara challenge the Thai criminal court's order to extradite him to India.

"Tara's extradition to India will be in violation of the UN Convention because if extradited, he will possibly face death sentence in India. We will submit documentary evidence to the Thai court to prove ongoing torture on Sikh detainees in India, SFJ's legal advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said.

The Khalistan Tiger Force commander and his accomplices Paramjit Singh Bheora, Jagtar Singh Hawara and Dev Singh were arrested after Beant Singh?s murder but escaped from the high security Burail Jail in Chandigarh in 2004.

Last week, Thai authorities, acting on a tip-off from the Punjab Police, arrested Tara from the house of a member of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) in Bangkok.

According to reports, Tara was living in Thailand under a Pakistani passport.