Hoshiarpur, Punjab (June 19, 2013): Dal Khalsa has asked the Home Secretary, Punjab to order the release of 95-year-old prisoner Assa Singh on parole as his condition is reported to be very serious.
Notably, Assa Singh is currently serving a jail sentence of 10 years in infamous 1987 robbery of Rs 5.70 crore. There are media reports about the attack on Assa Singh by his inmates in Hoshiarpur jail. However, the jail authorities had claimed that the inmate Assa Singh sustained serious injuries when he fell down near the washroom.
Party head Harcharanjit Singh Dhami, who met Assa Singh in the civil hospital today along with his deputy Dr Manjinder Singh said despite government orders that no one above 80 years of age will be imprisoned, Assa Singh has been languishing in jail. He condemned the jail authorities for their gross negligence and for failing to take up the case of aged and ailing person with the government in time.
To a question, Dhami said what happened to Assa Singh was mystery. Praying for his speedy recovery, he said we have to wait for his condition to become stable so that he could himself narrate “what happened to him”. Urging the Punjab government to consider his case on humanitarian grounds, he said Assa Singh needs proper medical aid and for that he should be released immediately.