Rajoana case: SGPC to write to Prez in last-ditch effort
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Friday resolved to make a last-ditch attempt by writing to the President to decide on its petition pertaining to the case of Balwant Singh Rajoana, the death row convict in CM Beant Singh assassination case.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Friday resolved to make a last-ditch attempt by writing to the President to decide on its petition pertaining to the case of Balwant Singh Rajoana, the death row convict in CM Beant Singh assassination case. The plea filed by the SGPC seeking commutation of his death sentence to life imprisonment is still pending with the Central government even after more than a decade.
Passing a resolution in its executive committee meeting, the gurdwara body also mentioned the issue of Bandi Singhs (Sikh prisoners) and decided to send a report of the matter to the Akal Takht besides sending the final representation to the President.
SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said the government is resorting to discrimination when it comes to Bandi Singhs. He alleged that a five-member committee, which was formed by the Akal Takht to take up the cases of Rajoana and other Sikh prisoners with the Centre government, has not been given any positive response by the government.
He informed that ₹20,000 given to Sikh prisoners has been hiked to ₹40,000 per month. He also flayed the Haryana government for re-nominating members of the ad-hoc committee of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee.
The SGPC executive announced ₹5 lakh and a job each to the families of a volunteer who died in a freak mishap in the langar hall and also one who died after a gas leak incident in Gurdwara Jamani Sahib, Ferozepur.
The SGPC president said that the executive also decided to honour Jarmanpreet Singh with ₹5 lakh for being a sabat soorat (with unshorn hair maintaining Sikh identity) member of the Indian hockey squad that won a bronze in the Paris Olympics.