AMRITSAR, India, Oct 15, Reuter: A Sikh religious leader appealed on Saturday for clemency to be shown to two Sikhs sentenced to death in connection with the 1984 assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The call came after the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh, both Sikhs, should hang for their involvement in the killing of Gandhi, whose son Rajiv succeeded her as Prime Minister.
Prof. Darshan Singh, head of the Akal Takht or eternal throne in the Golden Temple, the Sikhs holiest shrine, appealed for clemency, saying that the Sikh majority state of Punjab had ‘suffered as a result of a government crackdown on separatists there.
“Punjab wants peace but the decision to hang Satwant and Kehar would be like rubbing salt into the wounds,” he said.
Satwant, 24, was one of two Sikh bodyguards who gunned down Gandhi. Kehar, 47, a former civil servant, was charged with inspiring the killing.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 21, 1988
