AMRITSAR, Aug 14 — The firm stand taken by Akal Takht on the eve of Independence Day for releasing Sikh detainees, languishing in various jails of the country may put the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal in a tight spot.

This is for the first time after militancy in Punjab that the Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, has said “languishing” of Sikh youths in jails was “intolerable”. Giani Joginder Singh has said it was “height of high-handedness” that many Sikh youths were languishing in jails even without prosecution.

Giani Joginder Singh alleged that many youths were killed in ‘fake encounters’. Thousands of Sikh youths were implicated in false cases. He said they (the Sikh youths) had been languishing in jails for more than 12 years.

Though the Jathedar has not blamed the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal directly, yet he has alleged that no serious attempt had been made to secure their release so far.

He made a fervent appeal to the Panth to take steps for getting them released immediately.

The Jathedar said the Central Government had released militants in Jammu and Kashmir to bring normalcy in the state. He wondered why the Sikh youths continued to be detained?

It is pertinent to mention here that the top militant leaders like Daljit Singh Bittu, Daya Singh Lahoria, who was responsible for the attack on Mr Maninderjit Singh Bitta, a former president of the Indian Youth Congress, Sukhi and Kukki, who were recently extradited from the USA in connection with the murder of Lallit Makhan and his wife Gitanjali, son-in-law and daughter of a former President, Mr Shanker Dayal Sharma, respectively, are lodged in different jails.

While Bittu is in the Nabha jail, Lahoria, Kukki and Sukhi are in Tihar and Ajmer jails. According to an estimate 200 militants are lodged in Amritsar, Nabha, Sangrur, Patiala, Ludhiana, Burail (Chandigarh) Mumbai and other jails.