Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal Wednesday sought the release of Sikh prisoners who the party claimed were languishing in various jails across the country despite completing their sentences.Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal told the media that a deputation of Akali Dal leaders would soon meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to seek the release of Sikh prisoners from various jails.Badal said the Akali Dal would vehemently plead the case of the prisoners before the union government for securing their release.The chief minister said he has already taken up the matter with the respective state governments and the centre for releasing the prisoners."The final call on this issue was to come from the union government," he said.
Asked about reports regarding the rejection of release by the union government, Badal said the state government has not yet received any communique from the centre.A Sikh activist, Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa, has been on hunger strike for the past 55 days at a gurdwara in Ambala city of Haryana since Nov 14 last year.Sikh leaders have been urging Khalsa to end his fast but he has refused to budge.Most of the Sikh convicts in jails are linked to terrorism cases.Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini told the media here Wednesday that there was no convict whose sentence was complete and who was still in jail in the state.Saini was clarifying the issue amid reports that the maximum number of Sikh prisoners languishing in jails despite completing their terms were in Punjab itself."There are about 3,600 people undergoing life imprisonment in jails of Punjab. A vast majority of them have not undergone the minimum prescribed sentence to become eligible for consideration for pre-mature release," he said."Presently, there are 182 life convicts in Punjab's jails who have undergone the minimum sentence and who can be considered for pre-mature release, subject to the parameters prescribed in the policy," he said.