Sikh bodies seek release of Singhs who have completed their jail term

CHANDIGARH, Punjab—Representatives of various Sikh organisations turned up at the historic shrine, Gurdwara Amb Sahib in Mohali on Friday, to express solidarity with Bhai Gurbakash Singh, who is on a fast unto death for the last 16 days. He is seeking the release of at least five Sikhs, who according to him were not being released from jails by different governments, even when after they had completed the prison sentences awarded to them by the respective courts.

Forty-seven-year-old Gurbakash Singh, who belongs to a village near Shahbad in Haryana, has sought the release of Lakhvinder Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Shamsher Singh, who have spent 18 years in prison in the case of assassination of former Chief Minister, Beant “Singh”. They were awarded life sentences and were lodged in Chandigarh’s Burail jail since their arrest in 1995. Similarly, he seeks the release of Lal Singh from Nabha Jail in Punjab and Gurdeep Singh from Karnataka, as they too had completed 20 years and 23 years in jail, respectively, after being convicted by different courts under the provisions of TADA.

Solidarity

Representatives of Dal Khalsa, Panch Pardani faction of the Akali Dal, Sikh Students’ Federation, Sikh Youth of Punjab, Khalsa Panchayat, Lawyers for Human Rights, Panthik Sewa Lehar and human rights’ activists visited Gurbakash Singh, to express solidarity and inquire about his health. It was decided that representatives from these organisations would join the protest by observing a day’s hunger strike on December 2.

Stoic silence

While the organisations called upon all Sikh organisations and civil liberties groups to join the protest, they appealed to the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal to break its stoic silence and take up the issue of release of Sikh prisoners with the Centre. They also appealed to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) to support the cause raised by Gurbakash Singh.

Earlier during the week, women representatives of some Sikh outfits accompanied the relatives of the prisoners to submit a memorandum to the Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Giani Gurbachan Singh, to seek the release of these prisoners.

The organisations accused the Centre of following different set of rules for the majority and minority communities. They said that while the Sikh youths were not being released even after they had completed their prison sentences, a police officer (read Punjab DGP) who was facing trial in a CBI court, for almost 20 years, in a case related to the disappearance of three persons, enjoyed all privileges through plum postings.

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