Chandigarh (December 26, 2013): It was an emotional moment as Gurmeet Singh, a life terms convict in the assassination case of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, was released on parole for 28 days on December 25, 2013 from the high-security Burail jail.
Clad in a white kurta-pyjama with a cream-colored loie hanging from his shoulders, the 42-year-old Bhai Gurmeet Singh was received a warm welcome by hundreds of Sikhs outside Burrail Jail, and at Gurdwara Amb Sahib (Mohali). The family members who received Bhai Gurmeet Singh outside Burail Jail included his mother and two sisters.
According to Times of India (TOI): “[a]s Gurmeet walked out of the main gate around 12.15pm on a bright sunny afternoon, his mother Surjit Kaur broke down as she embraced him and kissed him on the forehead. The mother-son duo exchanged a few words after which Gurmeet went on to hug his two sisters — Varinder Kaur, who is hearing and speech impaired, and Manjit Kaur – who were standing near their mother”.
After his release, Bhai Gurmeet Singh went to Gurdwara Amb Sahib in an SUV with his family members to meet Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa, whose 42-day-old hunger strike had triggered the chain of events culminating in his release on parole.
A rousing welcome awaited Bhai Gurmeet Singh, a former engineer who made the explosives’ belt worn by Shaheed Dilawar Singh which killed former CM Beant Singh, at the gurdwara. Hundreds of people present at Gudwara Amb Sahib started raising Jakaras on seeing him. As he stepped out of the vehicle, some shook his hands while congratulating him and others frantically started clicking his pictures on their phones and cameras amidst high-pitched sloganeering.
After paying obeisance at the Amb Sahib, Gurmeet Singh met Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa and spent some 30 minutes with him. Later, while talking to the media, he said he was grateful to the entire Sikh community that struggled for his release.
According to Times of India (TOI): While Gurmeet Singh, who was arrested in 1995 and sentenced with life imprisonment in July 2007, avoided most of the questions, his mother said that she was planning to marry him. “I have started searching for a suitable girl for Gurmeet Singh. It is my wish that now he should get married and am sure that he will accept it,” said Surjit Kaur.
While addressing the media, Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa announced his “Punjab mission”. “I will travel and visit every village, town and district of Punjab for collecting details about Sikhs confined in jails after having completed their sentences,” he said and added that he would break his fast at Akal Takht Sahib in Amritsar.
Bhai Gurmeet Singh headed for Patiala, where his house is, with his family, after spending over two hours at the Gurdwara Amb Sahib.
It is notable that the parole orders of Bhai Gurmeet Singh along with two sureties bonds of Rs 1 lakh each were delivered to jail authorities by a team of Punjab police on the night of December 24.
Bhai Gurmeet Singh too was reportedly conveyed his release for 28 days on parole on Dec. 24 night.