Native Village Holds Bike Rally Till Patiala

[Azaad]

With less than a week to go for the hanging of Balwant Singh Rajoana on March 31, his native village has stepped up efforts to save the assassin of former Chief Minister Beant Singh.

The residents of Rajoana village, falling in Raikot area of Ludhiana district, today sought the intervention of the Union and state governments to save the ‘Zinda Shaheed’ (living martyr), a title bestowed upon Rajoana by the Akal Takht, from the gallows.

Around 300 of them today took out a rally on motorcycles, which started from Rajoana village and concluded in Patiala. The villagers also prayed for Balwant’s safety at the historic Gurdwara Dukhnivaran Sahib in Patiala.

"Punjab has already witnessed a lot of bloodshed during the militancy period that lasted around two decades. The Union and the state governments should ensure that Rojana is saved…. His hanging can disturb Punjab’s hard-earned peace,” said Ramninder Singh, a Rajoana resident.

Several Sikh organisations have also joined the “Save Rajoana” chorus. They issued separate statements demanding the commuting of Rajoana’s death sentence.

Sources in the Punjab intelligence wing said there was a possibility of the situation getting out of control if immediate steps were not taken to save Rajoana.