As Qaumi Insaaf Morcha protest completes 40 days, a look at the Sikh prisoners in focus

Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee has formed a list of 21 Sikh prisoners who are locked up in different jails. The focus of the ‘Qaumi Insaf Morcha’ is however on nine prisoners who have already completed from 15 to 31 years in jail as normally a prisoner spends 14 years in jail for a life sentence. However, it is all on the government to release such prisoners after spending a specific period of time.

Here are the brief profiles of these prisoners.

1. Devinderpal Singh Bhullar is a native of Dialpura Bhai Ka village in the district of Bathinda, Punjab.

Case: Bhullar was arrested in the 1993 Delhi bomb blast case and sentenced to death in 2011. Later, the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence into life imprisonment. He is serving life sentence in the case under sections of murder, attempt to murder, voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means, conspiracy under Explosive Substances Act. The case was decided by TADA Court, Delhi, on August 25, 2001.

Present status: He is in jail from January 19, 1995 to date. He has spent more than 27 years in custody, and is currently languishing at Central Jail, Amritsar. He is out on bail in another case registered at Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, in 1994. He is availing regular parole. The central government issued a notification for the release of Devinderpal Singh Bhullar on the eve of 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the first guru of the Sikhs.

Writ petition for his premature release is pending before Punjab and Haryana High Court.

2. Gurdeep Singh Khera is a native of Jallupur Khehra village, Amritsar district.

Case: He was arrested in 1990 in connection with two bomb blasts – one in New Delhi and another in Karnataka – and sentenced to two life terms under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, known as TADA, by a Delhi court and a Karnataka court. While in the Delhi case, he got remission in 2011 under the Sheila Dikshit government, he remains in jail under the Karnataka case. He is serving a life sentence in a case by the designated TADA court, Karnataka, under sections of murder, attempt to murder, conspiracy, Explosive Substances Act, and TADA Act.

Present status: He is in jail from December 6, 1990, to date. In June 2015, he was transferred to Amritsar jail on humanitarian grounds as his family lives there. He has been out on regular parole. Khera has spent more than 31 years in jail and is currently at Central Jail, Amritsar (Punjab). No other case is pending against him. He is availing regular parole.

The central government has issued a notification for the release of Gurdeep Singh Khera on the eve of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.

3. Lakhwinder Singh aka Lakha or Hero is a native of Kansal village in the Ropar district Ropar.

Case: He is convicted in the assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in 1995. He is serving a life sentence under sections of murder, attempt to murder, conspiracy, and Explosive Substances Act.

Present status: He is in jail from the day of his arrest in 1995 till date. Lakha has spent more than 26 years in jail. He is currently in Model Jail, Burrail, Chandigarh, and is availing regular parole.

4. Gurmeet Singh aka Meeta is a native of SAS Nagar in Punjab’s Mohali. He belongs to Guru Nanak Nagar, Patiala.

Case: He is co-accused with Lakha. He is convicted in the Beant Singh murder case.

Present status: He has been in jail since the day of his arrest in 1995 and has spent more than 26 years in jail. He is currently in Model Jail, Burrail, Chandigarh, and is availing regular parole. A writ petition for his premature release is pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

5. Shamsher Singh is a native of Ukasi Jattan village in the Patiala district.

Case status: He is convicted with Lakha in the Beant Singh murder case.

Present status: Shamsher Singh is in jail from the day of his arrest in 1995 to till Date. He has spent more than 26 years in jail. Currently locked up in Model Jail, Burrail, Chandigarh, and is availing himself of regular parole.

6. Paramjit Singh Bheora

He is a resident of Vishwakarma Park, Lakshmi Nagar, Delhi, and originally belongs to Bheora village in Punjab’s Ropar.

Case: He is a convict in the Beant Singh murder case and is serving a life sentence under sections of murder, attempt to murder, conspiracy, and Explosive Substances Act.

Present status: Bheora was arrested in 1997. He escaped from the Burail jail on January 23, 2004, and was again arrested on March 20, 2006. He has been in jail since then. He spent more than 23 years in Model Jail, Burrail, Chandigarh, and has taken no parole. One case is pending against him.

7. Balwant Singh Rajoana is a resident of Rattan Nagar, Patiala (Punjab), and belongs to Rajoana Kalan village, in Punjab’s Ludhiana.

Case: He is convicted in the Beant Singh murder case and is serving a death sentence under sections of murder, attempt to murder, conspiracy, and Explosive Substances Act.

Present status: His death sentence was stayed by the Home Ministry in 2012. He has been in jail since 1995 and has spent more than 26 years in jail. At present Rajoana is lodged at Central Jail, Patiala. No case is pending against him. He has availed no parole. The central government issued a notification to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment on the eve of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. A writ petition to commute the death sentence into a life sentence is pending before the Supreme Court.

8. Jagtar Singh Hawara is a native of Hawara village in Fatehgarh Sahib district of Punjab.

Case: Hawara is a convict in the Beant Singh murder case. He was arrested in 1995. He was awarded a life sentence under sections for murder, attempt to murder, conspiracy, and Explosive Substances Act.

Present status: Appeal against conviction is pending in the Supreme Court. He escaped from Burail jail on January 23, 2004, and was again arrested in June 2005. He continues to be in jail for more than 25 years. Cases are pending in Mohali and Chandigarh courts against him. He has not availed of parole. He is neither a convict nor an undertrial from any crime in Delhi but was put behind bars at Tihar Central Jail, Delhi.

9. Jagtar Singh alias Tara is a resident of Arjun Nagar, New Delhi. He is a native of Dekwala village in Punjab’s Ropar.

Case: He is a convict in the Beant Singh murder case and is serving a life sentence in a case registered for murder, attempt to murder, conspiracy, and Explosive Substances Act.

Present status: Tara was arrested on September 13, 1995. He escaped from Burail jail on January 23, 2004, but was caught in January 2015. He has spent more than 15 years in jail. Three cases are pending against him, including one in Patiala and two in Jalandhar. He has not availed of parole.