Jalandhar: With the issue of Sikh Political Prisoners in focus the Punjab Government and Punjab Police Chief (DGP Sumedh Saini) indulged in to misguiding propaganda with a view to mislead people of Punjab. On the one had the Punjab government was lobbying with the centre and the other state governments asking for release of 13 Sikh political prisoners who are languishing in various jails in Indian subcontinent even after serving minimum mandatory terms of their sentences, but on the other hand Punjab DGP held a press conference in Chandigarh and maintained that no Sikh political prisoner sentenced to imprisonment for life could be, and should be, released. Punjab DGP made special reference to a list of Sikh political prisoners released by a Sikh lawyer named Advocate Jaspal Singh Manjhpur. He had claimed that Manjhpur’s list was full of “misinformation”.
Later Punjab government issued advertisements in various newspapers maintaining that there was no Sikh political prisoners in the jails of Punjab who has completed his jail term. Punjab government terms the list of Sikh Political prisoners released by Advocate Manjhpur as “misinformation” list.
Both DGP and the government maintained that “imprisonment for life” means “imprisonment for entire life”.
In this situation the Sikh Siyasat News (SSN) talked to Advocate Jaspal Singh Manjhpur who said that the Punjab government is attempting to cover-up it’s failure to release Sikh political prisoners who have served minimum mandatory terms of their sentences and whose cases falls with in the state government’s jurisdiction.
He said that if the imprisonment for life means “imprisonment for entire life” then how the human rights violator cops, who were sentenced to “imprisonment for life” were got released after serving five or eight years in prison?
Advocate Jaspal Singh Manjhpur also rebutted claims of Punjab DGP and Punjab Government regarding list of Sikh Political Prisoners. He explained the list and said that government was using outdated list to create confusion on the issue.
This is full recording of Sikh Siyasat’s interview with Advocate Jaspal Singh Manjhpur.