Chandigarh – Amid demand for for the release of Sikh detainees who have outlived their jail tenure,, Punjab Director General of Police Sumedh Saini today said [highlight]there was no way to release any convict who is undergoing life term following a Supreme Court order[/highlight]. He said there was no convict in Punjab who can be released as of now.
State Director General of Police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini, while referring to the demand for release of seven Sikh detainees raised by Sikh activist Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa — who has been observing fast since past 55 days demanding their release, maintained that none except one is in the State jail. “Six prisoners mentioned in the list of seven Sikh detainees, are out of Punjab, and we have no jurisdiction on them. One of them is lodged at Nabha jail, but the state government has no jurisdiction over him as he is the prisoner of Gujarat Government who has been transferred here,” clarified Saini.
He said the matter had been examined at the government level and it was decided to move an application before the SC for an early decision.
Saini said he was putting the record straight at the insistence of the state government. Saini was flanked by Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) Rajpal Meena and ADGP (Intelligence) HS Dhillon.
“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.”
He 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.
On why the government was pursuing the case if convicts can’t be released, the DGP said: “I am clarifying this on technical and legal grounds. As the senior-most police officer, I say this with full responsibility and approval of the state government.”
“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.
Saini said his top priority was to maintain peace and communal harmony in the state. He said the Punjab Police was acting proactively against terrorism and had tracked down terrorists such as Jagtar Singh Tara on foreign soils. The DGP said among the 3,600 life convicts lodged in the state jails for various crimes, 182 had undergone the minimum sentence could be considered for premature release, subject to the parameters prescribed in the policy, but owing to the SC ruling, no case could be taken up. The Punjab Government has sent a list of 13 persons to the Home Ministry.
The SGPC has issued two lists — one having 120 convicts, including 96 Sikh detainees, said to be in state jails, and the second with 80 persons, including 44 Sikhs, in the state jails after completing their sentence.
Source: TNS