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Balwant Singh Rajoana Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 28, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth23 August 1967

Age57 Years

BirthplaceRajoana Kalan, Ludhiana, Punjab

ProfessionPunjab Police Officer

NationalityIndian

Marital statusUnmarried

FamilyFather - Malkeet Singh (deceased); Mother - Gurmeet Kaur; Adoptive parents - Jaswant Singh (deceased) and Surjit Kaur (deceased); Elder brother - Kulwant Singh

Balwant Singh Rajoana Biography

Balwant Singh Rajoana is a former Punjab Police constable from Rajoana Kalan, Ludhiana, known for his conviction related to the 1995 assassination of Chief

Early life and background

Balwant Singh Rajoana was born on 23 August 1967 in Rajoana Kalan, Ludhiana, Punjab. He grew up in the neighbouring village of Heran and completed his schooling there until the eleventh standard. After finishing his formal education in 1987, he joined the Punjab Police as a constable under a government welfare scheme following the death of his father.

Rajoana’s family background includes his father Malkeet Singh, an army official and sarpanch of Rajoana Kalan, and his mother Gurmeet Kaur. Malkeet Singh was killed by militants while resisting an attack. In 1993 Rajoana was legally adopted by Jaswant Singh and Surjit Kaur, the parents of his friend Harpinder Singh Goldy, who had been killed during the period of unrest in Punjab. Rajoana remained unmarried.

Career

Rajoana served as a constable with the Punjab Police and was deputed in 1993 as a private security officer for a journalist in Patiala. His name became nationally known after the August 1995 bombing outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh that killed then-Chief Minister Beant Singh. The attack occurred on 31 August 1995 when a suicide bomber, identified as Dilawar Singh, approached the CM’s car and detonated an explosive device. Rajoana was described in court proceedings as the backup bomber.

Investigations and trial in the case named numerous suspects and co-accused, including members and associates of Babbar Khalsa International and several other individuals who were later charged and tried. Charges against Rajoana and others were framed in February 1996. Rajoana gave a statement in the makeshift courtroom at Burail Jail on 25 December 1997 in which he admitted his role and voiced political and moral justifications for the act. He also described his technical involvement in preparing the device, including purchasing materials intended to increase its lethality.

In July and August 2007, multiple co-accused received sentences handed down by the special court sitting at Burail Jail; on 1 August 2007, Rajoana himself was sentenced to death by a special CBI court. A death warrant was later issued for 31 March 2012. On 28 March 2012, the President of India stayed the execution following clemency appeals filed by the Punjab chief minister and the SGPC.

Public profile

While in custody, Rajoana became a public figure for his open acceptance of responsibility. He refused to contest the prosecution’s case, declined legal representation including a court-appointed lawyer, and did not file a personal mercy petition. He converted to an Amritdhari Sikh while on death row, being initiated in Patiala central jail in the presence of the Akal Takht Jathedar. His statements and courtroom testimony repeatedly referenced the suffering of Sikhs during the insurgency and the period following Operation Blue Star and the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Rajoana has also expressed explicit political leanings toward the Shiromani Akali Dal. He was granted permission by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to attend the funeral of his foster father Jaswant Singh in January 2022, during which he addressed the gathered sangat and urged support for the SAD-BJP alliance in Punjab’s 2022 legislative elections.

Physical profile and personal details

Rajoana’s recorded physical attributes include an approximate height of 180 cm (5 feet 11 inches). His eye colour is listed as black and his hair described as salt-and-pepper. He is identified as an Indian national and a follower of Sikhism. His education included studies at G.H.G. Khalsa College, Gurusar Sadhar, Ludhiana. His permanent address is noted as Village Rajoana Kalan, P.S. Sudhar, Distt. Ludhiana, Punjab, with a present address in Patiala.

Latest updates

As of 2022, the Supreme Court was hearing Rajoana’s plea seeking commutation of his death sentence on the basis of his long period in custody. He remained the only convict in the case who publicly confessed and accepted responsibility without pursuing legal appeals or a mercy petition on his own behalf.
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Recent Work

Confession and Court Testimony

Confessed involvement and provided testimony in the makeshift courtroom at Burail Jail on 25 December 1997; later sentenced to death on 1 August 2007 with execution stayed in 2012.

1997-2012
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Career Highlights

  1. Former Punjab Police constable
  2. Confessed participant and convicted in the assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh (1995)
  3. Sentenced to death by a special CBI court on 1 August 2007; execution stayed on 28 March 2012
  4. Initiated as an Amritdhari Sikh while on death row
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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Balwant Singh Rajoana born?

23 August 1967

What is Balwant Singh Rajoana known for?

Punjab Police Officer

What is Balwant Singh Rajoana’s marital status?

Unmarried