Windsor Castle intrusion: Suspect’s family faces 'difficult time’

WHILE the London police are investigating the Christmas Day security breach at Windsor Castle, the alleged intruder’s family in Southampton said it is going through a difficult phase following the incident.

“Something’s gone horribly wrong with our son,” Jasbir reportedly said of Jaswant Chail who was arrested on Saturday (25) from the grounds of the royal residence.

“We are trying to figure out what. We’ve not had a chance to speak to him but are trying to get him the help he needs”, The Times quoted Jasbir, 58, as saying.

“From our perspective, we are going through a difficult time. We are trying to resolve this issue and it’s not easy.”

However, the Met Police have not named the suspect who was armed with a crossbow when he scaled the walls of the castle. The monarch was some 500 metres away from the spot.

“I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I've done and what I will do. I will attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, Queen of the Royal Family,” a masked figure, believed to be the suspect, said in a video shared on Snapchat before the intrusion.

“This is revenge for those who have died in the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. It is also revenge for those who have been killed, humiliated and discriminated on because of their race. I'm an Indian Sikh, a Sikh. My name was Jaswant Singh Chail, my name is Darth Jones,” the figure said in the video.

A message sent with the video read, “I’m sorry to all of those who I have wronged or lied to. If you have received this then my death is near. Please share this with whoever and if possible get it to the news if they’re interested.”

Chail’s family, comprising his parents and a sister, live at North Baddesley, a Southampton suburb. His parents reportedly run an IT firm.

Media reports said police carried out searches at their house.

While the suspected intruder is arrested under the Mental Health Act, Chail’s former fellow pupil’s account suggested he was a “normal” boy when he was growing up and did not have extreme views on racism.

“He was nerdy, but not in a way like, ‘I’m so clever’. . . he was pretty normal,” a teenager who studied at Toynbee School in Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire, told The Times.

During the Covid lockdown, Chail reportedly became isolated, confining himself to his room for long hours and spending his time on the internet.

A neighbour told Mail Online that Jasbir had mentioned a few times how difficult it was getting his son involved in anything positive or trying to motivate him and was blaming the lockdown.

“The dad told me that his son was spending more time alone in his room on social media and the lockdown had made this worse.”

The infamous massacre mentioned in the video took place at Jallianwala Bagh in the northwest Indian city of Amritsar in April 1919 when the country was under British rule. The Army under the command of colonel Reginald Dyer opened fire at a crowd staging a pro-independence demonstration, leaving scores dead.