Diljit Dosanjh, Khali Back Campaign To Save Punjab Trucker On Death Row In Saudi Arabia

A campaign to "save" Baljinder Singh, a truck driver from Punjab's Pathankot district who has been sentenced to death by a Saudi Arabian court in a drug-related case, has intensified, with wrestler Dalip Singh Rana, alias The Great Khali, and Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh speaking up for him.

Baljinder, a resident of Sujanpur, worked as a truck driver in Dubai for about 10 years and regularly transported goods between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, according to his family in a video that brought the issue into the limelight two weeks ago. The family said he has been in custody in Medina since February 6, 2024. Official details are not yet available.

Dalip Rana 'Khali' posted a video on Instagram urging people to support Baljinder's family and raise their voice for him, citing the family's claim that he was allegedly framed.

Diljit Dosanjh took up the case during an Instagram Live session after fans asked him about it. He said he did not know the full facts of the matter, but urged the government to ensure a proper investigation so that "no innocent person is punished".

According to the family, an acquaintance working in Dubai asked Baljinder to carry a packet to Saudi Arabia, saying it contained medicines for the acquaintance's ailing elderly father. Baljinder's father, Jaswinder Singh, said his son refused twice because he did not know what was inside. He agreed after the man showed him a video of his sick father. "He had no idea there were drugs in the package," Jaswinder said.

Narcotics were allegedly recovered from the package during scanning at the UAE-Saudi border, following which Baljinder was arrested. The family said a Saudi court subsequently convicted him of drug trafficking and sentenced him to death.

Baljinder's wife, Sunil Lata, who lives in India with their two children, said higher courts upheld the sentence and that an appeal for royal clemency was also rejected.

On September 21, Sunil Lata submitted a representation seeking intervention to former MP and BJP leader Avinash Rai Khanna in Hoshiarpur. Khanna forwarded the representation to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and urged the Centre to take up the matter with the Saudi government.

Details of the judgment are not available, including the type and quantity of narcotics allegedly recovered and the court that passed the sentence. Neither the Saudi authorities nor the Indian government has confirmed the sentence.

Baljinder's parents, Gurmeet Kaur and Jaswinder Singh, have been appealing to the Punjab government and the MEA to intervene, maintaining that their son was "trapped". The family describes Baljinder as an Amritdhari (baptised) Sikh who "has no connection to drugs". He is the family's main earning member. The family said it is seeking every possible legal and diplomatic intervention, including commutation of the death sentence, to secure Baljinder's return home.