Jaipur jail clears convict’s transfer

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 24

In a breather for the Punjab Government, Jaipur jail officials have approved the transfer of a Sikh convict, Harnek Singh Bhapp, to a Punjab jail. The case file is with the Rajasthan Home Department. Sources say the transfer will be a mere formality now.

The Punjab Government is under pressure from several Panthic organisations for the release or transfer to state jails of 20 Sikh convicts. The organisations have been sitting on a dharna at Bargari for about 120 days, seeking justice in incidents of sacrilege and police firing, and release or transfer of Sikh convicts.

On the insistence of these organisations and human rights activists, besides an ongoing struggle by Surat Singh, the state government had been successful in transferring 13 out of 20 Sikh convicts to Punjab jails so that their families or relatives could meet them more often.

Bhapp is undergoing life imprisonment for kidnapping Congress leader Rajinder Mirdha in Jaipur in February 1995. He was arrested in 2004.

The Rajasthan Government had last month disallowed a request of the Capt Amarinder Singh government to transfer Bhapp to a Punjab jail.

According to human rights activist Jaspal Manjhpur, who is pursuing the case of Sikh convicts and officials of the state Jail Department, the Rajasthan Government had earlier “erroneously” rejected the transfer of Bhapp. It had argued that Bhapp cannot be transferred to a jail outside Jaipur as he had appealed against his conviction in the Rajasthan High Court in Jaipur. So, it was convenient for security forces to produce him in court if he is housed in a jail nearest to the HC.

However, Manjhpur and the Ludhiana-based family of the convict sought revision of the decision on the plea that Bhapp had no other case, including a plea against his conviction, pending in Rajasthan or any other state. This means that there was no need for security arrangements for his court appearance.

Punjab jail officials said they had also written to the Rajasthan Government through the Punjab Home Department for re-considering Bhapp’s case.

Behind bars in kidnapping case 

• Harnek Singh Bhapp is undergoing life imprisonment for kidnapping Congress leader Rajinder Mirdha in Jaipur in February 1995. He was arrested in 2004
• The Rajasthan Government had last month disallowed a request of the Capt Amarinder Singh government to transfer Bhapp to a Punjab jail