BARNALA: Thousands of people, including women, assembled at the Barnala grain market on Tuesday to take part in a rally seeking pardon for social activist and farmer leader Manjit Singh Dhaner, who has been convicted of murder. The rally was organised by a committee formed to seek cancellation of life sentence to Dhaner.
The Supreme Court will on October 4 take up a special leave petition (SLP) filed against upholding the sentence to Dhaner by the Punjab and Haryana high court. Raising slogans in solidarity with Dhaner (60), the participants are seeking remission of life sentence and urged the Punjab government to prepare a pardon case and send it to the governor.
Addressing the gathering, committee convener Boota Singh Burjgill said Dhaner along with two others, Narain Dutt and
Prem Kumar, were convicted for the murder of one Dalip Singh of Mehal Kalan on March 30, 2005, by the trial court. He added that while Narain and Prem were acquitted by the high court in 2011, conviction of Dhaner was upheld. “Dhaner too had no hand in that murder and, hence, he should be pardoned by the state,” he added.
Committee members, including Joginder Singh Ugrahan, Raminder Singh Patiala, Satnam Singh Ajnala, Zora Singh Nasrali and Prempal Kaur, said Dhaner had been fighting for the social causes and for farming issues all through his life. He had no role in Dalip’s death and should be pardoned.
