Ardas ceremonies were organised at all gurdwaras, including Gurdwara Manji Sahib Diwan Hall in Golden Temple complex and educational institutions managed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), on Saturday for the release of Sikh prisoners who have completed their sentences and have been in jail for over 30 years and are not being released.
SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami and Akal Takht acting jathedar Kuldeep Singh Gargaj participated in the ardas held at Gurdwara Patshahi IX at Karhali in Patiala, while jathedar Giani Tek Singh attended the prayer ceremony at Takht Sri Damdama Sahib.
As part of the programme, “bhog” of “akhand paath” was performed at all historic gurdwaras under the SGPC’s management. SGPC member Rajinder Singh Mehta said the issue of the release of Sikh prisoners was closely linked to the sentiments of the community. He said several of these prisoners had spent decades behind bars, far exceeding the sentences prescribed under law.
Mehta alleged that successive governments had remained indifferent to the sentiments associated with the issue. He urged the government to take a decision on the Sikh prisoners’ cases while keeping in view the sentiments of the community.
Referring to Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted in the 1995 assassination case of the then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, he said the government had “failed” to take a decision on his death sentence despite observations by the Supreme Court, which he claimed amounted to denial of his legal rights. He said Jagtar Singh Hawara, another convict in Beant Singh assassination case, had not been granted parole even to meet his ailing mother. “When there is no relief through other means, Sikhs have always turned to Guru for support,” Mehta said, adding that the “ardas” programmes were organised in accordance with a decision of the SGPC executive committee.
