A delegation of Opposition leaders under the leadership of Sukhpal Singh Khaira and former Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Dharamvira Gandhi on Thursday submitted a memorandum to the governor of Punjab VP Singh Badnore requesting him to recall the orders granting pardon to four cops sentenced to life imprisonment by the special CBI court of Patiala in a case of fake encounter of Harjit Singh of village Saharan Majra in Ludhiana district.

Khaira in a statement said that they had apprised the governor of real facts of the case and sought to review the case file. They told the governor that his decision to grant pardon to the convicted cops was a violation of the constitution and the law of land.

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He said that SAD-BJP government led by Parkash Singh Badal had sent the file for grant of pardon to four policemen on 8 March 2017, few days before election results were declared. Khaira said the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal was the home minister at that time and he was instrumental in pleading the case of convicted policemen.

Dr Gandhi told the governor that Badals and present Chief Minister Amarinder Singh might have misrepresented the facts to him about the fake encounter of Harjit Singh. He called the attention of the governor that CBI court had held these four policemen guilty of killing a Sikh youth Harjit Singh of Saharan Majra village in Ludhiana district in a fake encounter in October 1993 to get out of turn promotions. The guilty policemen hatched a conspiracy to kidnap Harjit Singh and eliminate him which is a heinous crime against the humanity and scar on our democracy.

Dr Gandhi said that people of state expected from the governor that being constitutional head of the state he would safeguard the interests of citizens who look at him for justice.

Opposition leaders requested the governor to recall his orders dated June 11, 2019, in the larger interest of the state. Khaira further added that it was extremely saddening to state that while the Punjab government has granted undue pardon to four policemen who were sentenced because of killing an innocent person in cold blood, no such leniency has been shown to many Sikh political prisoners languishing in jails for the last many decades.

Prominent amongst these are Gurdeep Singh Khaira who has served 29 years in prison, Lal Singh who has served 28 years, Davinderpal Singh Bhullar who has served 27 years, Subheg Singh who has served 25 years etc. whose petitions for release from jails are biting the dust in the offices of Punjab government.