Amritsar, March 25
The state government is contemplating to release Sikh detainees who have completed their sentence and are lodged in various jails. The government is also likely to take up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to release Sikh youths from jails in other parts of the country.
This assurance was given by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to Mr Parmjit Singh Sarna, president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, during
their meeting at the residence of Ms Praneet Kaur, MP from Patiala, in New Delhi today.
Mr Sarna told TNS that Capt Amarinder Singh had said his government would process the cases to ensure the release of the detainees. However, Capt Amarinder Singh had clarified that his government would not show any leniency to those arrested on charges of narcotics smuggling.
The release of detainees would give political mileage to the Amarinder Singh government as the demand had been made by the Jathedar of Akal Takht on the eve of Divali every year.
There are about 95 detainees in the jails of Punjab and other states.
Prashant Sood adds from New Delhi: The Punjab Government has urged the Ministry of External Affairs to take up with the Pakistan government the issue of direct bus service from Amritsar to Nankana Sahib.
Sources said Capt Amarinder Singh had spoken to his counterpart Pervaiz Elahi in Pakistan-Punjab to make way for a direct run of buses to the Sikh religious shrine on April 13.
The Chief Minister, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi here on Thursday, is believed to have apprised them of the feelings of the people of Punjab about the bus service. He also briefed the two leaders about his
discussions with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukhat Aziz.
Punjab Government officials said the proposed transshipment of bus passengers would turn the whole exercise into a “non-event.”
With an aim to make the journey more comfortable, the Punjab Government had proposed online transfer of passenger data to security agencies to reduce time involved in security clearance.
