Sikhs protest to demand Rajoana's release

New Delhi, March 28 (IANS) Hundreds of Sikhs led by former journalist Jarnail Singh Wednesday demanded the release of Balwant Singh Rajoana who assassinated the then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in 1995 and vowed to agitate till their demand was met.

"The staying of Rajoana's hanging is a welcome decision but it isn't the final solution. We want him (Rajoana) to be released soon. He has already spent 17 years in jail," Singh told IANS.

Singh came into limelight April 7, 2009 when he hurled a shoe at Home Minister P. Chidambaram, at a press conference over his response to the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) clean chit to Congress leader Jagdish Tytler on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

"Thousands of Sikhs took out a protest march today (Wednesday) and ended it at the CBI office. This is just the beginning and many more agitations are in store," he added.

Singh accused the CBI of bias and said that when it came to the anti-Sikh riots, the CBI was yet to provide justice to the victims, but in the case of Rajoana, the special court swiftly delivered its verdict.

The union ministry of home affairs (MHA), in a letter to Punjab's home secretary Wednesday (March 28), stated that the execution of Rajoana is stayed till the apex court's order on the appeal is received or the president decides on the mercy petition for Rajoana filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).

The stay came as Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal met President Pratibha Patil to seek clemency for Rajoana.