Saini says there is misinformation about people languish in Punjab jails
Chandigarh: “For the past few days, there has been a lot of misinformation about people languishing in Punjab jails. Let me categorically state that there is no such convict in the state jails” The Tribune quotes Sumedh Saini. He was addressing a press conference on January 7.
The Tribune news reports says Sumedh Saini was referring to a list by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) that claimed most of the Sikhs were languishing in Punjab jails and not outside. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, supported by the state BJP unit, have urged Home Minister Rajnath Singh to release 13 such Sikh prisoners.
The DGP said only two out of 120 persons on SGPC’s list had completed their minimum sentence. The issue of their premature release came under the ambit of the Supreme Court order.
“The states do have policies for premature release of life convicts after they complete minimum sentence (10 years, 12 years and 14 years for different categories), but the policies differ from state to state and no one has a legal right to claim remission,” he added.
DGP himself misinformed about number of Sikh political prisoners: Advocate Manjhpur
Ludhiana: Advocate Jaspal Singh Manjhpur who compiled list/s of Sikh political prisoners jails in Punjab and elsewhere in Indian subcontinent said that DGP Sumedh Saini was himself ‘mis-informed’ about number of Sikh political prisoners. He said that the list to which he was referring in his press conference was more than year old. Many of the persons included in the have been released after being acquitted by different courts.
Advocate JS Manjhpur said that he had issued an updated list of Sikh political prisoners (on Jan. 07) which include names of 83 Sikhs out of which 16 life term convicts have completed their sentence, while one – Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana is facing death sentence but he has also completed minimum mandatory term of life imprisonment.
TENTATIVE LIST OF SIKH POLITICAL PRISONERS JAILED IN PUNJAB AND ELSEWHERE IN INDIAN SUBCONTINENT (Issued on January 06, 2015):