Parole granted to terror convict Gurdeep Singh Khera, but Sikh groups want all 'Bandi Singhs' freed

AMRITSAR: The parole given to terror case convict Gurdeep Singh Khera raised hopes of the release of Bandi Singhs (Sikh political prisoners) on Sunday, even as many Sikh organisations did not connect Khera's parole with the ongoing agitation for the release of others imprisoned in similar cases.
Khera, a resident of Jallupur Khera village in Amritsar district who has been in the jail since 1990, was released on parole for eight weeks in recent past.
Jarnail Singh Sakhira, an aide of Akal Takht parallel jathedar Dhian Singh Mand, said Khera had been getting parole regularly since he was shifted to Amritsar from Gulbarga jail in Karnataka, and he had no connection with the agitation for the release of Bandi Singhs. He said the news of Khera's release on parole was being released to media by certain "vested interests".
Police had booked Khera under Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) Prevention Act and he was awarded life imprisonment in two cases of New Delhi and Bider in Karnataka in 1990.
Khera was shifted to Amritsar jail on June 26, 2015, from Gulbarga jail, almost two weeks after the transfer of 1993 bomb blast convict Devidner Pal Singh Bhullar from Tihar Jail.
In 2015, Gurdeep Singh Khera's parole application was cancelled on the basis of a police report apprehending a law and order situation if Khera was allowed to move freely. After being shifted from Gulbarga jail, Khera was granted parole for six weeks in April 2016.
Sakhira organised the 2015 Sarbat Khalsa where parallel jathedars was announced.