British Sikh, who wanted to 'kill' Queen Elizabeth, pleads guilty

LONDON: A British Sikh who allegedly planned to "kill the Queen" on Christmas Day in 2021 and was arrested with a loaded crossbow has admitted to treason charges.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, pleaded guilty to three charges, including an offence under the Treason Act, during a hearing at the Old Bailey on Friday.

Chail, who appeared at the Old Bailey via video uplink from Broadmoor Hospital where he is presently held, will be sentenced by the court on March 31. He admitted intending to injure or alarm the late Queen under the Treason Act 1842, the Metro reported.

A resident of Southampton, Hampshire, Chail had reportedly said: "I am here to kill the Queen", before he was handcuffed and arrested.

He also admitted to making threats to kill and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, namely a crossbow."He had made a video of himself stating his desire to harm the late Queen, which he sent to a group of contacts shortly before he was arrested," a Met Police statement said.

In the video, which was recorded four days earlier and sent to Chail's contacts list about minutes before his arrest, he says: "I am sorry, I am sorry for what I have done and what I will do. I'm going to attempt to assassinate Elizabeth Queen of the Royal Family."

In the video posted on Snapchat he said that the attack is a revenge for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre of Indians by British colonial troops.

"I am an Indian Sikh. My name was Jaswant Singh Chail. My name is Darth Jones," Chail, a former supermarket worker, said in the video.The Queen, who passed away last year, had been celebrating holidays at Windsor Castle when the incident took place.

According to reports, Chail had scaled the perimeter of the grounds with a nylon rope ladder, some two hours before his arrest.

He was wearing a hood and mask and was carrying a crossbow loaded with a bolt, with the safety catch off and ready to fire.The prosecution told the court that the Supersonic X-Bow weapon he was carrying had the potential to cause "serious or fatal injuries".