SGPC chief's appeal to President on death sentence of terrorist

Amritsar, Sep 11 (UNI) Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Avtar Singh Makkar today appealed to President APJ Abdul Kalam to commute the death sentence of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) terrorist Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar to life imprisonment.

The mercy petition of Bhullar, whose death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court, is pending before the President since January 2003. Bhullar was involved in the bomb explosion outside the All India Youth Congress (AIYC) headquarters in Delhi in 1993, which left several dead.The then AIYC chief Maninderjit Singh Bitta was the prime target, but he escaped unhurt.

In a letter sent to the President today, Jathedar Makkar said that Bhullar was not a terrorist but ''a victim of circumstances''.

In the letter, the SGPC chief claimed that the terrorist fled to Germany when his father and uncle were killed by the police.

The capital punishment to Bhullar was awarded by a Delhi Session Court and later upheld by the apex court. Bhullar was deported to India a few years back and was subsequently arrested by the Delhi police.

UNI HS VD DB2041