New Delhi, India (May 31, 2013): According to media reports a New Zealand Sikh community who was framed under charges of “terrorism” in India has been released.
According to ‘The New Zealand Herald’, [t]he Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) said on May 30, 2013 that it had been informed the case against Manpreet Singh had been dismissed.
“Our high commission is seeking confirmation of this advice from the court” NZ MFAT spokesman Adham Crichton reportedly said.
According to NZ Herald: Manpreet Singh, a former president of the New Zealand Sikh Society and a justice of the peace, was arrested on his arrival at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport in March (2013) and faced multiple charges including attempted murder, involvement in seditious activities and masterminding a jailbreak.
The chairman of the Supreme Sikh Council of New Zealand, Daljit Singh, said the decision was a “big relief for both the family as well as the Sikhs”.
“We are very pleased by the court decision, but at the same time it came as no surprise” said Daljit Singh.
Manpreet Singh who was previously residing in Auckland had left New Zealand in 2011 with his family to live in Australia.