COM HARBHINDER JALAL GRANTED BAIL BUT RELEASE DELAYED

Com Harbhinder Jalal being produced in the court

HARBHINDER JALAL GRANTED BAIL

BUT NOT RELEASED DUE TO VINDICTIVENESS OF JAIL AUTHORITIES.

Com Harbhinder Jalal, editor of a revolutionary Punjabi Magzine CHAMKDA LAL TARA was arrested by Kharar Police in May 2011, while he was traveling in a bus near Gharuan village. The police alleged him to be the head of Punjab unit of CPI Maoist. A 32 bore pistol and some live cartridges were shown to have been recovered from him. He was charged under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act; Arms Act, Cheating & Sedition under the IPC. Lok Morcha Punjab, Democratic Front Against Operation Green Hunt Punjab, SURAKH REKHA a revolutionary paper, Lok Sangram Manch and various democratic-revolutionary organizations had condemned the arrest and false implication of Harbhinder Jalal in a criminal case.

He was granted bail by the court of Additional Sessions Judge, Mohali on dated 25.09.2011. The bail bonds were furnished on dated 27.09.2011. The court tried to send the release warrants through fax but he was informed that fax machine is not working. Thereafter on the application of his counsel, the trial court deputed one process server to deliver the release warrants to the jail authorities. However jail authorities refused to accept the release warrants on the ground that they cannot accept release warrants after 5.30 p.m. Efforts were made to contact jail authorities on phone but surprisingly no body answered.

It will be pertinent to mention here that in the case of women & minor girls arrested in connection with forcible land acquisition at Gobindpura , they were released in the mid-night by the Supdt Central Jail Bathinda, just to harass them, as there was no mean for them to go to their village. In the case of Surjit Singh Phul, President BKU Krantikari , who was arrested and charged with unlawful activities & sedition, the Jail authorities delayed his release by about 7 days after grant of bail by the Court, on the pretext that certain offences which were added after registration of FIR were not mentioned in the release order.

The Democratic Front Against Operation Green Hunt, Punjab has spearheaded the campaign for release of Com Harbhinder Jalal. It constituted a Fact Finding Team to apprise the people about the circumstances under which he was arrested and subjected to third degree tortured, denied basic rights and the atrocities perpetuated by the police on his family members.. The report of this Team was widely circulated. The Democratic Front also held massive conventions at Chandigarh and Rampura to demand Comrade Harbhinder Jalal’s release along with some other issues of state repression in Punjab.

By: N.K.JEET, Advisor, LOK MORCHA PUNJAB, (E-Mail: nkjeetbti@gmail.com)