Amritsar, February 10 SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami on Tuesday condemned the Delhi government for reportedly rejecting the release petition of Devinderpal Singh Bhullar, a convict in the 1993 Delhi bomb blast, calling it an act of "injustice" against Sikhs.
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Dhami said that earlier, during the Aam Aadmi Party government's tenure, Bhullar's release petition had been rejected multiple times by the Sentence Review Board, Government of Delhi, and now the BJP government too, is following the same path by taking decisions that go against Sikh sentiments.
He pointed out that while the Sentence Review Board recommended remission of sentences for several prisoners, the case of Bhullar – who has been in prison for the past 33 years – has been rejected.
On one hand, the BJP claims to be sympathetic towards Sikhs, but on the other, the government's approach in Sikh-related matters exposes its "double standards", he alleged in a statement.
He said Sikhs have always made immense sacrifices for the nation, yet the "negative approach" of governments towards Sikhs has repeatedly led to "disillusionment".
Bhullar was convicted in connection with the killing of nine people and injuring 31 in the blast in 1993. He was awarded the death penalty by a designated Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court in August 2001, but the Supreme Court commuted his capital punishment to life sentence in 2014.
