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Amritsar, Dec 9 (PTI) The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on Saturday said it has decided to hold talks with the Centre on the commutation of sentence of death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana and other Sikh prisoners.
The decision apparently was taken at the first meeting of the five-member committee formed by the Akal Takht to discuss the commutation of Rajoana, who was convicted in the 1995 former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh’s assassination case.
SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami, after the meeting, said a letter is being written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek appointment with the committee to discuss the matter.
In the debut meeting of the committee, it was decided to negotiate with the central government the issue of Sikh prisoners in a friendly atmosphere, Dhami said.
Efforts will be continued democratically to ensure the protection of the human rights of Sikh prisoners, said the chief of the apex religious body of Sikhs.
On Wednesday, the Akal Takht had formed a five-member panel led by Dhami to take up with the Centre the demand for commutation of Rajoana and other Sikh prisoners.
The day coincided with the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
The other members of the panel are Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Harmeet Singh Kalka, Punjabi newspaper editor Barjinder Singh Hamdard, Rajoana’s sister Kamaldeep Kaur Rajoana, and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Virsa Singh Valtoha.
Rajoana is currently lodged in the Patiala central jail.
The SGPC has been seeking the release of several Sikh prisoners including Devinderpal Singh Bhullar, a 1993 Delhi bomb blast convict. PTI JMS CHS VN VN
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