A court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has sentenced to death 10 Indian youths from Punjab for the murder of a Pakistani national in December last year during a brawl over bootlegging in Al Ain city, The Indian Express reported. Another youth, also booked in the case, has been spared the gallows but fine of Rs 2 lakh.
The order came on December 1.
The families of these youths, all in their 20s, have pleaded their innocence and urged the state and central governments to step in and bring them back to India.
The 11 men are: Harpreet Singh and Ajay Kumar of Nawanshahr, Satminder Singh of Barnala; Chander Shekhar of Hoshiarpur, Hajinder of Moga, Kulwinder Singh, and Dharamvir Singh of Ludhiana;Tarsem Singh of Amritsar; Gurpreet Singh of Patiala; Jagjit Singh (Gurdaspur) and Toni of Batala.
In the past, their families had approached AAP and BJP leaders, and had even met even the Chairman of Punjab State SC Commission, but to no avail. After that, they approached Dubai-based hotelier SP Singh Oberoi, who runs a campaign to save death row convicts and has saved 17 youths from Punjab and Haryana in the past. Oberoi told The Indian Express informed he had already filed an appeal in the High Court in Abu Dhabi.
All the youths are from poor families, working there as plumbers, electricians, masons and carpenters.
Oberoi said he would fight the case till the last and also try to make negotiations for “blood money” to the victim’s family. “As per the law in UAE, ‘blood Money’ is permitted if the family of the deceased agrees,” he said.
