Chandigarh, September 29, 2019: Sikhs from all walks of life have welcomed the announcement by the central government yesterday to release eight Sikh prisoners and commuting the death sentence of another as a goodwill gesture on the occasion 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
Speaking to Babushahi, advocate Jaspal Singh Manjhpur, who has been fighting for the release of all 22 Sikhs lodged in different jails of the country for offences related to terrorism in Punjab, said, “I welcome this move by the Modi government. It is a good decision. Hope the process continues and the government will expedite the release of the remaining prisoners.”
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However, there is no clarity as yet about the names of the prisoners who will be released and the one whose death sentence has been commuted.
Government of Punjab had sent a list to the Centre which had the names of the following prisoners for release: Lal Singh, Dilbagh Singh, Saran Singh (all lodged in Nabha jail), Hardeep Singh and Baj Singh (Amritsar central jail), Nand Singh (Patiala central jail), Subheg Singh (Ludhiana central jail), Gurdeep Singh Khera (Gulbarga central jail in Karnataka), and Waryam Singh (Bareilly central jail in UP).Out of these Dilbag Singh, Hardip Singh and Swaran Singh had already been released.
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According to Manjhpur, the prisoner whose death sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment is most likely Balwant Singh Rajoana, who is lodged in the Central Jail Patiala as a convict for the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh.
“Among the 22 Sikh prisoners, only Rajoana is on death row. So, it is very likely that Rajoana’s death sentence has been converted into life sentence,” Manjhpur said.But there no offical confirmation on this issue. ( Check pdf )