Kin of 17 Indians on death row seek government support

Jalandhar, April 1 (ANI): Relatives of the 17 Indians, who have been sentenced to death by a Sharjah Sharia court for killing a Pakistani man, have sought the Indian Government's assistance and accused the Government of Haryana for being unhelpful.

The said the accused are innocent and are being punished for a crime they didn't commit.

"Our boy, Taranjeet Singh, from Kaithal district of Haryana, left for Dubai one-and-a-half years ago. He took leave recently to come to visit us. But now, we don't know his whereabouts. They have arrested him on suspicion. We know that 60 persons were arrested, but many of them, have been let off. The 17 have been awarded the death sentence. The Haryana Government is not helping us at all," said Sukhwinder Kaur, an aunt of Taranjeet Singh.

The Pakistani was killed following a dispute involving the illegal trade of alcohol.

"We plead to the Indian Government to please help us. We are very poor people, and with great difficulty, we sent our son abroad," said Balbir Singh, Taranjeet Singh's father.

The group on death row is believed to be the largest number of people sentenced to death at one time in the UAE.

In the UAE, Sharjah is the only emirate where the consumption, possession or trade of alcohol is banned completely. (ANI)