Latest News | SAD Leaders Majithia, Valtoha Not Allowed to Meet Death Row Convict Rajoana in Patiala Jail

Chandigarh, Dec 4 (PTI) SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Monday said he along with party leader Virsa Singh Valtoha was not allowed to meet Balwant Singh Rajoana, a death row convict in former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh's assassination case, at the Patiala Central Jail.

Though the Akali leaders claimed that they had the requisite permission from the additional director general of police (prisons) to meet Rajoana, the Patiala central superintendent said the denial of permission was conveyed to Majithia through phone.

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Majithia and Valtoha wanted to meet Rajoana to urge him not to go on hunger strike.

Rajoana had threatened to go on the strike from December 5 to seek withdrawal of his mercy petition filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to the President in 2012.

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The SGPC had filed the petition keeping "Panthic" sentiments in mind and it is not in the interest of the community to withdraw it, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami had said on Sunday.

Majithia alleged that they were not allowed to meet at the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

The former minister accused jail authorities of not giving any satisfactory reply for denying him and Valtoha the permission to meet Rajoana.

In a statement, the Patiala jail superintendent said after thorough examination of the application, according to the Punjab Prison Rules, 2022, it was decided not to allow both the public figures to meet the prisoner in the Patiala Central Jail .

In this regard, Majithia was also conveyed verbally on phone about the denial of permission according to the Punjab Prison Rules on December 2 by the superintendent of the jail, said the statement.

Hence, the fact that both the political leaders were denied permission to meet Rajoana on-the-spot is incorrect, it said.

The SAD had written to the additional director general of police (prisons) on November 30 to seek approval for Majithia and Valtoha to meet Rajoana, any day before December 5.

The statement said the application was sent by the Prisons Headquarters Office, Chandigarh, to the office of the superintendent of the central jail for taking a suitable decision according to the law and rules. The jail's superintendent is the competent authority to decide on such matters, it said.

SGPC chief Dhami slammed the state government for preventing Majithia and Valtoha from meeting Rajoana.

"On the one hand, Balwant Singh Rajoana, who has been in jail for the past 27 years, is forced to go on a hunger strike due to the stubborn attitude of the government, while on the other hand, obstacles are being created before the Sikh community in pacifying him by the Bhagwant Mann government of Punjab," said Dhami in a statement.

Dhami has written a letter to Rajoana, appealing to him to withdraw his decision to start the hunger strike from December 5.

The SGPC chief wrote to Rajoana in light of the decision of the Sikh body's executive committee and the suggestions received in the recent meeting of 'Panthic' representatives.

In this letter, Rajoana has been appealed to withdraw his decision to go on hunger strike, as it is not right as per the 'Gurmat' (teachings of Sikh Gurus) philosophy, he said in a statement.

Dhami said the SGPC has also decided to hold a protest march from the Gurdwara Sri Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi to the Rashtrapati Bhawan on December 20.

Representatives of five Takhts, Sant Samaj, Nihang Singh organisations, Damdami Taksal, Kar Sewa leaders, all farm unions, and political Sikh organisations and representatives of Singh Sabhas are being requested to join this protest, he said.

The SGPC has been seeking the release of several Sikh prisoners including Rajoana and Devinderpal Singh Bhullar, a 1993 Delhi bomb blast convict.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)