'Accountability procession' to question Akal Takht jathedar on March 5

JALANDHAR: The state government and Sikh religious leadership, including Akal Takht jathedar and SGPC, are set to face the issue of release of Sikh detainees once again as an "accountability procession" is being taken out from village Dyalpura near Jalandhar to Akal Takht in Amritsar on March 5 by some Sikh groups.
The organizers of the procession, Sikh Movement Committee - including Sant Baljit Singh Daduwal and Panthpreet Singh - are alleging that Akal Takht jathedar Gurbachan Singh while asking Gurbax Singh Khalsa, who sat on a hunger strike for 44 days in November and December last year, had assured that he would secure permanent release of Sikh detainees once they come out on parole but now he had gone silent.The six detainees, whose release is being demanded on the ground that they had already served their jail terms include three lifers in Beant Singh assassination case. The organizing committee had said that Akal Takht jathedar would be questioned about his failure to deliver the promise of permanent release of the detainees. It also said that now Gurbax Singh Khalsa was also staying away from the issue when the detainees were again in jail.
The detainees, who were released on parole after a lot of public pressure even as earlier the Punjab government had been recommending against their release on parole, had returned to jail in the third week of January after the parole terms had ended.
Gurbax Singh Khalsa had earlier said that it was Akal Takht jathedar's responsibility to get the detainees released. However, on Sunday he said that the jathedar told him that attempts were being made to secure their release and he was also following their cases with the authorities. Khalsa said he ended his hunger strike after promise from the jathedar and that the agitation could be resumed again.