Amritsar, Punjab (February 09, 2013): Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s hanging “shows a very disturbing trend by the Indian government”, Dal Khalsa said Saturday.
“The hardliner Sikh group opposes the death penalty in principle in all circumstances and described it as inhumane punishment,” said its head H S Dhami. He expressed his solidarity with Guru’s family members, who were not told in advance about the hanging.
Condemning the execution, he said “the hanging of Afzal Guru, is a purely political decision taken by the Indian government to consolidate the Hindu vote-bank, keeping an eye on the impending 2014 elections”.
With the surreptitious execution of Guru in Tihar jail, there is strong apprehension that this act of the state would pave the way for sending more persons who are on the death row especially Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana to the gallows. “I had inkling that the present government may hang Bhai Rajoana one day all of sudden, as he stands firmly for Khalistan and rejects the Indian justice system”.