Chauhan arrives, arrest unlikely

NEW DELHI, JUNE 27. After remaining in exile for nearly 21 years, the Khalistan protagonist, Dr. Jagjit Singh Chauhan, arrived here late on Tuesday.

Dr. Chauhan arrived from London by a British Airways flight and was accompanied by a crack team of the Scotland Yard and representatives of Amnesty International. Sources in Chandigarh said Dr. Chauhan travelled as a sick passenger and came out of the IGI airport in a wheel chair.

Both the central and Punjab Government intelligence agencies were keeping a tab on the 73-year-old leader and his activities, sources said, adding that he was unlikely to be arrested.

Dr. Chauhan reached Chandigarh by the Shatabdi Express in the night. His wife, Mrs. Charanjit Kaur, and a large number of mediapersons were present at the railway station when he arrived.

Earlier, there was speculation about the whereabouts of Dr. Chauhan amid reports that he had gone into hiding. While intelligence sources said he had left for Chandigarh by car, his wife said she had no knowledge of where he was. Even his counsel refused to give any details.

Dr. Chauhan, who was Finance Minister in the Gurnam Singh Ministry in 1967-70, went into exile in Britain on May 15, 1980 at the height of militancy in Punjab and declared a separate Khalistan republic.

- PTI, UNI

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