Author: Mandakini Gahlot
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: June 6, 2011
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/i-cannot-believe-politicians-are-standing-up-for-a-terrorist/799810/0
Introduction: A family that lost a son to
one of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar's terror acts, say only victims' kin have
the right to decide if he should be forgiven -or hanged
When Vikram Singh, a 42-year-old farmer who
lives in Gharonda - a bustling suburb in Haryana - switched on the television
to catch the evening news nearly 10 days ago, he was shocked by what he saw.
On television were politicians of all hues
demanding clemency for Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, who was sentenced to death
in August 25, 2001 for his role in a series of bomb blasts in the 1990s and
attempting to assassinate present Punjab Vigilance Bureau Chief Director Sumedh
Singh Saini in 1991 and then Indian Youth Congress chief M S Bitta in 1993.
Vikram's thoughts immediately went back to
that fateful day in 1993 when his younger brother Sukhbir Singh lost his life
to one of Bhullar's heinous attacks.
Sukhbir, then 26 years old, was one of the
Indian Tibetan Border Police's finest personnel. "He served for a long
time as part of the security force for I K Gujral when he was serving as foreign
minister in 1989, and even later," Vikram recalls.
In the first week of September, 1993, Sukhbir
was deployed in the security cordon of M S Bitta, who had just been appointed
president of the Indian Youth Congress. "We were expecting him to come
home for a short visit on September 9 but he called from Delhi to say that
there was some important function on the 11th for which he had to stay back,
and he would come home on the 12th," says Vikram.
Back home in Gharonda, Sukhbir's family was
waiting for him with more anticipation than usual. His mother had just selected
a suitable bride for him, and they were all keen to schedule the marriage
in the next few months.
And on the night of September 11, 1993, the
family heard on Doordarshan news that nine people had lost their lives in
a bomb blast targetted at Bitta outside the Congress office in Delhi. "I
immediately knew that my brother was one of those killed," says Neelam
Chauhan, Sukhbir's younger sister, who was then just 16.
The family that has two older sons in the
Army, and now another young one in the ITBP, still grieves for the son they
lost to terrorism.
"Now they want to forgive the main accused.
What about the mental trauma that Bhullar's actions caused to us and other
families like ours who lost young sons to a mindless act of terror? I cannot
believe certain politicians are standing up for a terrorist," says Chauhan.
Vikram says he feels families like them will
get a sense of justice if Bhullar is hanged. "After Sukhbir's death,
we never asked anyone for anything, except in 2002 when a bunch of terror-stricken
families appealed to the President to ensure that Bhullar gets the death sentence.
It is our only hope for justice. I just want to tell these politicians not
to use my brother's death to gain points with their voters. Also, if anyone
gets to have a say on whether Bhullar should be hanged or forgiven, it should
be the families of the people he has killed, but no one has spoken to us about
this," says Vikram.
The family claims it is yet to get the Rs
2 lakh compensation amount the government had announced then.
Bitta says he carries with him the guilt of
having escaped the bomb that was aimed at him but ended up killing nine people.
