NEW ORLEANS, June 10: The judgment in the Bhajan Lal murder conspiracy was announced today here by the trial Magistrate. Dr. Gurpartap Singh Birk has been sentenced to 10 years while Sukhminder Singh gets 7 years, Virinder Singh and Jasbir Singh get5 years each. Dr. Birk was earlier sentenced to 7 years by a New York court for violating U.S. Neutrality Act. His ten years sentence will run concurrently with the earlier sentence of seven years, All the four had filed guilty pleas as a bargain arrangement.
In a special message to World Sikh News, all the four said that they had taken the judgment in their stride and expressed confidence and faith in each other. All pleas, they said, were made in consultation with one another. They appealed to the Sikhs to keep the banner of struggle for independence fluttering and not to be dismayed by any temporary setbacks.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 12, 1987
