New Delhi, India (April 12, 2013): According to media reports Sunil Gupta, Tihar Central Jail spokesperson has said that Prof. Devender Pal Singh Bhullar, cannot be hanged till he is declared fit.
Gupta reportedly told a news agency on April 12, 2013 that Prof. Bhullar was sent to a mental asylum around two and a half years ago, and has since been lodged there.
“As per Indian law, a convict cannot be hanged till he is declared mentally and physically fit” Gupta reportedly said.
“When we get Bhullar’s fitness certificate from the asylum, he will be lodged back in Tihar Jail and hanged, as per procedure”, he reportedly added.
It is pertinent to note that the Supreme Court of India has rejected the a petition seeking commutation of death sentence to Bhullar, who is on death row since 2003.
Prof. Bhullar’s had filed a petition in the Supreme Court of India in 2011 seeking commutation of his death penalty to life sentence on the ground that there was inordinate delay by the president in deciding on his constitutional review petition.
On the other hand Dr. Rajesh Kumar, one of the doctors treating Bhullar at the Institute of Human Behaviour Allied Science (IHBAS), has reportedly said that: “Bhullar is still mentally unstable and he is being treated by a panel of five to six doctors”.
Dr. Kumar reportedly said that the panel treating Bhullar for the past two-and-half years has director of IHBAS Nirmesh G. Desai besides a doctor, a psychologist and a social worker as members.
“It is not easy to say that how much time is required for him to be mentally fit. We would share his condition with Tihar Jail officials,” Dr. Kumar reprotedly added.
Meanwhile, there are unconfirmed reports that Professor DPS Bhullar has been already shifted to Tihar Jail. Jag Bani, a Punjabi vernacular, has published a report on it’s website that Prof. Bhullar has been shifted to Tihar Jail.
Jag Bani has referred to a personal (unidentified/unnamed) Facebook account as source of this information, which does not sound to be a credible source of information.
Sikhs are suspecting that India may hang Professor Devender Pal Singh Bhullar in secrecy like Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri who was hanged on February 09, 2013 in Tihar Jail. There are possibilities that Prof. Bhullar could be secretly shifted to Tihar jail for execution.
There is worldwide outcry by Sikh circles against the proposed hanging of Professor Devender Pal Singh Bhullar, who himself is a victim of state-sponsored terrorism as his family members were subjected to enforced disappearances and custodial torture, and were secretly killed and disposed off, while the culprit police officers are enjoying full impunity and high ranks in Punjab police. The case of Prof. Bhullar symbolizes the plight of Sikhs in India.