This Article is From Mar 25, 2012

Akali Dal core committee meeting today to discuss clemency of Beant Singh's killer

Akali Dal core committee meeting today to discuss clemency of Beant Singh's killer
Chandigarh: Punjab chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has called for an emergency core committee meeting of his party, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), today to discuss the issue of clemency for Balwant Singh Rajoana, who is on death row for the assassination of former Chief Minister Beant Singh.

The meeting comes after the Akal Takht, the highest Sikh temporal body, directed the Chief Minister to "immediately" meet President Pratibha Patil and take appropriate steps to secure the "unconditional release" of Mr Rajoana who is scheduled to be hanged on March 31.

"My government has been taking advice from legal experts. All possible legal steps will be initiated pertaining to Rajoana's case," Mr Badal told reporters in Chandigarh on Saturday.

The meeting will be attended by SAD secretary Daljit Singh Cheema and Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee head Avtar Singh Makkar.

Additional District and Sessions Judge, Chandigarh, Shalini Nagpal had earlier this month issued a warrant of death sentence against the Mr Rajoana, a terrorist from Babbar Khalsa Innternational. He was awarded the death sentence on August 1, 2007 by a special CBI court.

 
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