If claims are to be believed then jailed
Dalit youths from Punjab in an Abu Dhabi prison are being pressurised
to convert to Islam. Family members of such jailed youths have alleged
that jail authorities are using ‘reduction of jail term’ as a bait to
convert the jailed Punjab youths.
The family of one of the jailed youths
from Meerankot area of Amritsar on Monday met National Commission for
Scheduled Castes Vice-chairman Raj Kumar Verka and narrated the ordeal.
“Our son Sukhwant Singh Boni had gone to
Dubai in 2009 but landed in jail after he was falsely implicated in a
murder case in November 2011. He is being pressurised to convert to
Islam and is also being given beef to eat. The jail authorities say if
he accepts Islam then his jail term will be reduced,” Sukhwant’s father
Balbir Singh alleged before Verka, who along with other commission
members, is currently touring Punjab.
The Commission was also informed that
another jailed youth, Sadanand, who recently returned to Punjab after
being released from jail, confirmed that the jail authorities in Abu
Dhabi are forcing jailed youths from the state to convert.
Verka said the Commission has taken serious note of the allegation and issued a notice to the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi.
“We have issued notice to the Indian
embassy and have asked it to submit the report to Commission within a
week. The Commission will contact two other Punjab youths who were
jailed in Dubai and were deported recently,” Verka said.
Meanwhile, a delegation of the
commission on Monday began its three-day Punjab tour by holding a
meeting for the public and commission’s staff associations. The
commission is in the state to review the ongoing welfare schemes of the
central government.
Besides Verka, Commission members Raju
Parmar and Ishwar Singh were also present at the meetings. They heard
the staff associations about their service conditions and other issues.
By MANJEET SEHGAL
By MANJEET SEHGAL
Source : Daily Mail
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