Mohali, December 25
After observing fast for the past 41 days, Sikh activist Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa today accepted the Akal Takht directive and said he would end his hunger strike at the Golden Temple in Amritsar tomorrow.

This comes after a three-hour meeting between Khalsa and Akal Takht Jathedar Gurbachan Singh and Kesgarh Sahib Jathedar Mal Singh behind closed doors in Mohali.

Later in the evening, Khalsa said he was a dedicated Sikh and could not go against the directives of Akal Takht. “I bow down to the directives and would end my fast at the Golden Temple tomorrow. I would go there with Gurmeet Singh and Lal Singh, who have already been released from jails,” he said.

The Sikh clergy had directed Khalsa to end his fast yesterday following which Khalsa urged the Sikh high priests to come to Gurdwara Amb Sahib for discussion.

The two high priests arrived at the gurdwara this morning and held a meeting with Khalsa.

“It is more or less a victory for Khalsa since Lal Singh and Gurmeet Singh have been released from jails and process in on to secure the release of other four Sikh detainees. We had asked him to end his fast since his health was deteriorating,” said one of the high priests.

Khalsa was later shifted to Fortis Hospital for treatment. “We will go to Amritsar where Khalsa will end his fast tomorrow,” said Harpal Singh Cheema, a member of the organising committee of the Sikh Bandi Rehai Lehar.

He said their struggle to secure the release of the other detainees would continue.

Mohali, December 25
Gurmeet Singh, a militant convicted in former Chief Minister Beant Singh’s assassination case in 1995, was released from Burail Jail on 28-day parole this afternoon. He was arrested by the Chandigarh Police in 1995 and a local court awarded him life sentence along with two other accomplices on July 31, 2007.

Gurmeet, who came out of the jail for the first time since his arrest on September 5, 1995, later met Gurbaksh

Singh Khalsa at Gurdwara Amb Sahib in Phase VIII and thanked him for his protest to secure the release of Sikh detainees. “I thank Khalsa as well as the entire Sikh community for their efforts to ensure our release. I hope other Sikh detainees will also come out of jails soon,” said Gurmeet Singh after paying obeisance at the gurdwara.

This is the first time that parole has been granted to Gurmeet. The process for parole of his two accomplices - Shamsher Singh and Lakhwinder Singh - is yet to be completed and it will take a couple of days before they are released.

Mohali, December 25
For Gurmeet Singh, who was released from the Burail Jail in Chandigarh for 28 days today, there will be no free world during his furlough.

In his warrant for temporary release under Sections 3 and 4 of the Punjab Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act 1962, it is clearly stated that the prisoner (Gurmeet Singh) has to reside at a house in Guru Nanak Nagar, near Gurbax Colony, Patiala, during his parole period.

“He shall not, without obtaining the prior permission of the District Magistrate, visit any place not specified in the release warrant during the period,” the order says.

Gurmeet will also have to mark his presence before the Patiala Sadar Police Station SHO twice a week.

Gurmeet has been directed to proceed directly to Patiala after his release on parole and stay put in the territorial jurisdiction of Patiala city except while coming back to jail after completion of the parole period.