Amarinder writes to Kumaraswamy for release of TADA prisoner

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today wrote to his Karnataka counterpart H D Kumaraswamy seeking the premature release of prisoner Gurdeep Singh Khera, serving life sentence in two terror cases, on the basis of good conduct, an official said here.

Amarinder Singh asked Kumaraswamy to sympathetically consider the case of 57-year-old Khera, currently lodged in Amritsar Central Jail after being shifted from Karnataka's Gulbarga Jail in 2015.

According to an official spokesperson, the Punjab chief minister, in his letter, sought Kumaraswamy's indulgence in advising the prison department of his state for reconsideration of the matter as Gurdeep Singh alias Deep, son of Banta Singh, was in jail for over 25 years.

Khera was booked under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) Prevention Act and, later, sentenced to life imprisonment in two different cases registered in 1996, in New Delhi and Bidar in Karnataka.

In December 2013, Khera petitioned the Karnataka government, seeking transfer to Punjab to be close to his family and get parole when required.

A native of Jallupur Khera village in Amritsar, Khera was transfered from Gulbarga Jail in June 2015 on "humanitarian grounds".

Amarinder Singh has also written to Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for expediting the transfer of Harnek Singh Bhap, son of Tara Singh, currently lodged in Central Jail, Jaipur, to a suitable prison in Punjab.

He pointed out that the Rajasthan DGP had forwarded his recommendation to the state's department of home in June this year and the final approval was awaited.

Earlier, a delegation had approached the state government, through Punjab cabinet minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, with a request to raise the issue with the Rajasthan government.