Sukhbir Singh Badal urges Centre to release Sikh 'political prisoners'

CHANDIGARH: Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today sought immediate intervention of Home Minister Rajnath Singh for the release of over 100 Sikh ' political prisoners' who have completed their sentences.

Answering media queries regarding indefinite fast being observed by Kurukshetra resident Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa at Ambala for the release of Sikh prisoners, Badal said he is writing to the Home Minister in this regard.

He urged the Centre to consider the issue of jailed Sikhs on "compassionate grounds" and free them under rehabilitation policies introduced in some other states to bring them into mainstream.

Several political prisoners, who were put behind bars during the days of militancy in the state, continue to remain behind bars even after completion of their life sentences. Some inmates have lost their mental balance due to which they have been unable to submit applications seeking their release, an official spokesman said.

The jail authorities have taken this stand to justify why the convicts are still in jail even though they have completed their sentences, he said.

There are 94 such convicts in Punjab, 76 in Haryana and seven in Chandigarh. Many of these convicts are languishing in jails for over two decades, some even for over 24 years.

The reason in some cases is that the states are yet to decide on the fate of applications of convicts seeking release. In other cases, the deputy commissioners of the areas where the convicts hail from are yet to confirm that the convicts belong to the said areas.

In some cases, the states have rejected applications seeking release, without giving any reason.