Balwant Singh Rajoana’s family on Friday welcomed the Akal Takht hukamnama directing Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Avtar Singh Makkar to make efforts to save Rajoana from the gallows.
Rajoana, a Babbar Khalsa militant, is on death row in the former chief minister Beant Singh’s assassination case.
“My brother has always held the Takht supreme and calls himself a dedicated soldier of the Panth,” said Rajoana’s sister Kamaljeet Kaur while talking to HT on the phone from Ludhiana.
Kamaljeet said she would meet Rajoana on Saturday in the Central Jail here and apprise him of this development and the Takht’s decision to declare Dilawar Singh (the human bomb who killed Beant Singh) a ‘qaumi shaheed’ (martyr of the community).
“With the declaration of Dilawar as a martyr, my brother’s main demand has been fulfilled,” she said.
When asked if the family would press Rajoana to appeal against the death penalty, she said, “We will not force him to do anything. My brother always follows his inner voice. There is no question of asking him to reconsider his decision,” she added.
Asked if the Takht’s announcement to declare Rajoana a ‘zinda shaheed’ (living martyr) was belated, she said, “This is not the purpose my brother has fought for. Since we respect the Takht, I will not comment on it.”
{{/usCountry}}Asked if the Takht’s announcement to declare Rajoana a ‘zinda shaheed’ (living martyr) was belated, she said, “This is not the purpose my brother has fought for. Since we respect the Takht, I will not comment on it.”
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, sources close to Kamaljeet’s family said a Takht representative met her in Ludhiana on Friday evening and had an hour-long meeting about the latest developments.