M A I N   N E W S

Beant case
3 Sikh detainees agree to come out on parole
Tribune News Service

Mohali, December 21
A day after the release of Lal Singh from Nabha jail, the three Sikh detainees —Lakhwinder Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Shamsher Singh — who are lodged in Burail Jail for the past 18 years in the Beant Singh assassination case have finally agreed to come out of jail on parole.

The late-evening development follows a series of deliberations with their family members and their counsels. Earlier in the day, the three detainees had refused to sign their parole applications, saying that they would come out of jail only on a premature release.

Talking to The Tribune, Harpal Singh Cheema, a member of organising committee of ‘Sikh Bandi Rehai Lehar’ said that he, along with the trio’s counsel Amar Singh Chahal, Balwinder Singh (father of Lakhwinder Singh), Baljinder Kaur (wife of Shamsher Singh) and sister of Gurmeet Singh, met the Sikh detainees this evening to persuade them to sign their parole applications.

Earlier, the trio had refused to come out on parole, saying that they should be set free on premature release. Even the family members of these detainees, who had met the trio in Burail Jail this morning, supported their decision of not signing the parole documents.

Later, when they turned up at Gurdwara Amb Sahib at Phase VIII here today and apprised Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa of the decision of not signing the documents, the entire managing committee of the Sikh Bandi Rehai Lehar, including Gurbaksh Khalsa (who has been on an indefinite fast for the past 39 days), was taken aback.

Some altercation was witnessed between the family members of the detainees and the protesters at the site. Following this, Gurbaksh Khalsa declared that he would end his fast after the release of Gurdip Singh from Gubarga Jail in Karnataka and Wariyam Singh from Pilibhit Jail in Uttar Pradesh.

Cheema said that Akhilesh Yadav, Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh, had approved the file for the release of Wariyam Singh from Pilibhit Jail. “The file in question is under process. Our delegation has also reached Karnataka for the release of Gurdip Singh,” said Cheema.