If convicts in Bilkis Bano case can be released, why not Sikh prisoners: SGPC chief

SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said such discrimination “is a violation of the Constitution of India as well as a murder of human rights.”

SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami at Teja Singh Samundari Hall at Golden Temple Complex in Amritsar. (Express photo by Rana Simranjit Singh)

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami has alleged that the government was adopting a discriminatory policy towards Sikhs and pointed out that if a decision can be taken to release convicts serving punishment in the Bilkis Bano case, then why can’t Sikh prisoners, who had already served twice their punishment of life imprisonment, be released.

“On one side, by adopting a sympathetic stand, the government is releasing convicts of heinous crimes like rape, which is termed as a blot on society, while on the other side, Sikh prisoners are kept lodged in jails for three decades,” said Dhami, who is an advocate.

The Gujarat government had on August 15 released 11 persons who were convicted for the murder of 14 persons and for the gang rape of Bilkis Bano in the state’s Dahod district in 2002.

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“This discrimination is a violation of the Constitution of India as well as a murder of human rights,” the SGPC chief said. Such injustice and discrimination are unacceptable and the governments need to take the matter seriously, Dhami added.

He advised the government of India to be sincere in adopting a uniform policy for all and sought the immediate release of Sikh prisoners.

Meanwhile, Dhami also appealed to Bhai Lakhwinder Singh Lakha, who is lodged in Model Burail Jail at Chandigarh, to end his hunger strike. Convicted in the Beant Singh assassination case, Lakha has been on a hunger strike for weeks demanding the release of Sikh prisoners. Dhami said there is no place for a hunger strike in the Sikh faith and added that the SGPC is making efforts and will continue to do so to ensure justice to Sikh prisoners.

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