SGPC to intensify campaign to demand release of Sikh prisoners

Amritsar, Jan 23 (PTI) The SGPC on Monday vowed to intensify their signature campaign for release of 'Bandi Singhs' (Sikh prisoners), which it claims are lodged in different prisons despite having completed their jail sentences.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex religious body of the Sikhs, said the nationwide campaign launched last month will now be taken to the villages and educational institutions.

The signature campaign was started on December 1, 2022, under which, lakhs of proformas have been filled by the people, SGPC general secretary Gurcharan Singh Grewal said here on Monday.

Presently, the SGPC is getting the proformas demanding release of Sikh prisoners filled at about 90 centres at historical gurdwaras. To intensify this campaign, the pracharak groups will take it to the village level besides educational institutions, he stated in a release issued here.

Grewal said the SGPC has been raising its voice for release of Sikh prisoners through various means, now the approach will be to transform it into a mass movement under the signature campaign.

Although the legal procedure is also being adopted, making the governments aware of the people's sentiment is extremely important, he said.

"After completing the process of filling these proformas, the filled proformas along with a letter in the name of the president will be handed over to the governor of Punjab," he said.

He said apart from Punjab, the signature campaign has received a great response in different states as well. PTI JMS SUN RHL