Community leaders and ordinary Sikhs all over the world have expressed relief over the stay of execution of Balwant Singh Rajoana in India.
The High Court of Chandigarh in Punjab had sentenced Rajoana on March 5, 2012 to death by hanging for his involvement in the assassination of State Chief Minister Bean Singh in 1995.
The verdict outraged the Sikh communities worldwide, leading to protest rallies, petitions to the Indian and local governments to cancel the execution and release Rajoana from prison.
In Auckland more than 1000 Sikh men, women and children gathered at the Manukau Square on March 25 to express their protest.
Following a submission by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee and recommendation by the federal government, President Pratibha Patil ordered a stay of the execution on March 29, 2012.
Supreme Sikh Council of New Zealand spokesperson Daljit Singh said the stay order brought temporary relief to the community but the court verdict should be overturned permanently.
“We hope that the Indian government will respect the sentiments of the Sikh community not only in India but all over the world and take steps to quash the sentence passed by the Chandigarh Court. We cannot overlook the atrocities that the people of Punjab experienced when Beant Singh was the Chief Minister.
“Those were days of extra-judicial killings, summary executions, fake encounters and disappearance of people due to sweeping powers given to security forces under the pretext of wiping out terrorism. Many innocent lives were lost and many of the victims are still awaiting justice,” he said.
Mr Daljit Singh said the community was grateful to the Indian President for her timely intervention. “We are confident that India will continue to uphold justice and fairness,” he said.
In Washington DC, Sikh Council on Religion and Education Chairman Dr Rajwant Singh described the stay order as a ‘step in the right direction.’
“We believe that the temporary stay of hanging of Rajoana due to presidential intervention will assuage the feelings of Sikhs a bit. There is widespread anguish in the community due to his scheduled execution and spontaneous reaction all over the world.
“It is critical that the central and state governments take steps to handle this issue carefully and commute the sentence in the larger interest of public good and maintaining peace and harmony in India,” he said.
