India, Aug. 13 -- Former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh's assassination convict Jagtar Singh Hawara on Wednesday declined the Delhi Prisons Department's two-day custody parole offer to meet his ailing octogenarian mother, as he sought regular parole, said people familiar with the matter.

Custody parole is a short-term, supervised release of a convicted prisoner from jail. An armed police escort stays with the inmate the entire time as they attend urgent family events. Hawara is currently lodged in Central Jail, Mandoli.

The development comes hours after CM Bhagwant Mann met Punjab governor and UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria to push for a 10-day parole to Hawara, saying his government was willing to take full responsibility for ...