Rejection of Bhullar’s release petition unfortunate: Takht jathedar

Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj said the government should view Bhullar’s case from the perspective of humanity and compassion, respect the sentiments of the entire Sikh community and release him permanently

Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj on Thursday termed it unfortunate that the BJP-led Delhi government had rejected the petition seeking the release of Sikh prisoner Devinderpal Singh Bhullar.

Devinderpal Singh Bhullar is serving the life sentence for his role in the 1993 car bomb blast in Delhi that killed nine persons and injured 31 others. (HT)

He said recently Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta, cabinet minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and other ministers had met him at the Akal Takht secretariat, during which he had asked the chief minister to ensure the release of Bhullar.

He said the Delhi government’s State Sentence Review Board had considered the cases of release of a total of 51 prisoners, out of which 24 cases were rejected while 27 were approved. He said if the government could decide to release other prisoners, then it could also release Bhullar.

Giani Gargaj said the government should view Bhullar’s case from the perspective of humanity and compassion, respect the sentiments of the entire Sikh community and release him permanently.

Bhullar is serving the life sentence for his role in the 1993 car bomb blast in Delhi that killed nine persons and injured 31 others. The attack targeted then Indian Youth Congress president MS Bitta, who was among those injured.

Bhullar was awarded the death penalty by a designated TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act) court in August 2001, but his capital punishment was commuted to a life sentence in 2014.