SAD urges Centre to release Sikh detainees

Welcoming the Centre's decision to release Sikh terrorist Waryam Singh serving a life sentence under TADA, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today urged the Centre to release all the remaining Sikh detainees as well as review the black list as recommended by the Punjab government.
In a statement here, senior SAD leaders Maheshinder Singh Grewal and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema lauded Home Minister Rajnath Singh for acting on the letters sent to him by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal.
"Both the Chief Minister and the SAD president had in their communications to the Union Home minister given details of Sikh detainees in jails outside Punjab and requested Rajnath Singh to intervene in the matter and get all those who had completed their terms released," they said.

"The SAD president had also requested that the black list of Sikhs settled abroad who had been declared persona non grata also be reviewed expeditiously," they said.
The SAD leaders said besides the release of Waryam Singh, two other Sikh detainees had been transferred to Punjab, including Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar and Gurdeep Singh Khera.
While Bhullar has been transferred to the Amritsar jail from Delhi, Khera has been transferred to Amritsar jail from Gulbarga jail in Karnataka in the recent past.

Some 20 sikh prisoners are lodged in different jails of the country outside Punjab.
They requested that all these detainees, who had had been in jails since the last 19 to 24 years should be released forthwith as per the premature release policies of various state governments.

The leaders said most of these prisoners were above 70 years of age and their release could be considered on humanitarian grounds also.
Meanwhile, the SAD urged the Union Home minister to review the black list of Sikhs maintained by his ministry and delete all names that were not required for any crime in Punjab.
The leaders said the black list maintained by the Foreigners Division of the Home ministry included names of asylum seekers who were unable to return to their country as they were denied visas and their passports were not renewed.
Stating that the list also "contained discrepancies and inaccuracies," the SAD leaders urged Rajnath Singh to get it reviewed expeditiously.

They said that according to information available with the Punjab government, there were 63 foreign nationals on the black list maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs (as communicated to the Punjab government) for the purpose of visa restrictions.
They said out of these the identity of 31 persons could not be ascertained in the absence of complete particulars.