http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/centre-stays-hanging-of-balwant-singh-rajoana-191105
New Delhi/Chandigarh: The Centre has stayed the hanging of Babbar Khalsa terrorist Balwant
Singh Rajoana after Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal met President
Pratibha Patil today. The state government has been under immense pressure in
the last few days with radical Sikh groups demanding clemency for Rajoana, who
was sentenced to death for the assassination of then Punjab chief minister
Beant Singh in 1995.
This comes after a court in Chandigarh ruled on Tuesday that Rajoana should be
hanged as scheduled on March 31. The court was hearing a plea from the Patiala
Jail Superintendent.
Mr Badal's government, along with Sikh body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak
Committee (SGPC), have been leading a campaign for clemency for Rajoana.
Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is also the President of the Shiromani Akali Dal
(SAD), had said today, "We are not politicising the issue. We want
clemency for Rajoana. We are meeting the President. We have also sought time
from the Prime Minister." Mr Badal stressed that not just the Akalis but
the Congress, and other political parties in Punjab, were also supporting the
SGPC's demand.
The matter of two other terrorists, Jagtar Singh Hawara and Lakhwinder Singh,
convicted in the same case, is pending before the Supreme Court. The Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has approached the Supreme Court in Hawara's case
as his death sentence, awarded by the CBI special court in 2007, was commuted
by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2010 to life imprisonment. The appeal
of Lakhwinder Singh against his conviction is also pending.
However, the High Court had upheld Rajoana's death sentence in the case as he
had refused to defend himself. Kamaljeet Kaur, Mr Rajoana's sister, who met him
in jail earlier today reiterated that he is not interested in asking for mercy.
Meanwhile, a bandh in the state today, called by radical Sikh groups to
protest against the scheduled hanging, threw normal life out of gear - forcing
schools and shops to shut down. Saffron-coloured flags could be seen flying on
buildings, houses and shops. In Patiala, Shiv Sainiks clashed with protesters,
and National Highway 1 was blocked. Trains between Ferozepur and Jalandhar were
also blocked with protesters sitting on the rail track near Ferozepur station.
Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law and Order, S.K. Sharma told
IANS there were no major incidents of violence during the shutdown.
Authorities in Punjab had beefed up security arrangements across the state in
view of the latest orders of the court directing that Rajoana be hanged. Nearly
60,000 Punjab police personnel and 15 companies of para-military forces had
been put on alert. The security forces had taken out flag marches in some
cities and towns since Monday. Security has also been tightened around the jail
to handle any untoward incident. Prohibitory orders are in place across
Chandigarh to stop assembly of groups.
