Bhai Lakhwinder Singh Lakha

Lakhwinder Singh, known as Lakha, is one of the men convicted in the assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in 1995, and one of the Bandi Singhs whose release is still debated in Punjab. The Tribune described him as a Punjab Police driver posted at the Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh who, in the account of the case, was an accomplice and had scouted the spot where the Chief Minister was killed.

Beant Singh was killed by a human bomb outside the Civil Secretariat on 31 August 1995. Lakha has been in custody since that year. On 31 July 2007 a special court at Burail Jail convicted Lakha, Gurmeet Singh and Shamsher Singh of murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy, and sentenced Balwant Singh Rajoana and Jagtar Singh Hawara to death. The Tribune describes Lakha as serving a life sentence, and reported that a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court found Gurmeet Singh, Lakha and Shamsher Singh to be "merely pawns" of Rajoana and Hawara, giving only logistic support.

Key moments

• Since 2013: the Tribune reported that Lakha, Gurmeet Singh, Shamsher Singh, Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar and Gurdeep Singh Khera had been given regular parole twice a year.
• January 2023: the High Court ordered regular bail for life convicts who had completed their sentences while decisions on permanent release were pending.
• February 2023: the Tribune listed him as having been in jail for 27 years, with parole granted many times.
• 9 May 2023: the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Chandigarh granted him bail on two sureties of Rs 2 lakh each, to run until the authorities decide on his permanent release.
• August 2025: when Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu said he would no longer oppose the release of the Bandi Singhs, the Tribune listed Lakha among seven convicts in the Beant Singh case still in jail.

Known for: his part in the Beant Singh case as a convicted accomplice, and a record of more than 27 years in custody, regular parole and bail on a High Court order, while the question of his permanent release stayed undecided in the reports available.