Neeraj Bagga
Amritsar, July 28
Days after Akal Takht Jathedar Harpreet Singh directed all gurdwara managements to start a movement from gurdwaras to sensitise the ‘sangat’ over the incarceration of Bandi Sikhs, the SGPC has started the process of installing photographs and details of those who have been languishing in jails for decades outside historic gurdwaras.
Sulakhan Singh Bhangali, manager of the Golden Temple, said the display boards would be installed at nearly 700 gurdwaras and educational institutes being run by the SGPC.
A display board with photographs of Sikh political prisoners erected at the Golden Temple says it amounted to violation of human rights on the part of the government for not releasing Bandi Sikhs even after completion of their jail term.
Written in Punjabi, it says these people had completed the duration of their terms behind bars yet there was no scope of their being released. It said neither the Centre nor the Delhi or Karnataka governments had worked towards releasing the Bandi Sikhs.
It said the release from prisons is their constitutional right.
The SGPC has accused the Modi government of not giving them time to discuss the matter.
Pictures of Bandi Sikhs like Gurdeep Singh Khaira, jailed for 32 years, Davinderpal Singh Bhullar, jailed for 28 years, Balwant Singh Rajoana, imprisoned for 27 years, Jagtar Singh Hawara, imprisoned for 27 years, Lakhwinder Singh Lakha, imprisoned for 27 years, Gurmeet Singh, imprisoned for 27 years, Shamsher Singh, imprisoned for 27 years, Paramjit Singh Bheora, imprisoned for 25 years, and Jagtar Singh Tara, imprisoned for 17 years, have been displayed on these boards.
A sharp reaction from the Akal Takht jathedar came out after a video went viral on social media in which Union Home Minister Amit Shah was seen going past protesting SAD president Sukhbir Badal and Harsimrat Badal as they were raising the demand for freeing Bandi Sikhs outside Parliament.
SGPC begins installing display boards with photos, details of Bandi Sikhs outside gurdwaras
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