5 Punjabis in US jail ‘forced’ to call off stir - Were protesting ‘torture’ by jail staff
Friday, 03/10/2014
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20141003/punjab.htm#16
Chandigarh : Four of nine Punjabi youths lodged in Salt Lake city jail of the US, who are on an indefinite strike against “harassment” by the jail staff, have been shifted to solitary barracks. The remaining five were allegedly forced to call off strike by the jail authorities.
Of these five detainees, the condition of Kuldeep Singh (45) of Patar Kalan village in Kapurthala is said to be critical. He is a heart patient.
Four detainees, including Inderjit Singh Parmar, Anmol Paul and Pardeep Kumar, are still on a hunger strike. The jail authorities have detained them in separate barracks.
The condition of 18 of the 29 Indian detainees who were shifted to Miami jail is said to be critical after they remained on a fast for 10 days.
Satnam Singh Chahal, executive director, North American Punjabi Association (NAPA), said: "Assistant field director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement John Stevenson has assured us that he will make sure that detainees do not face any problems."
He appealed to the Punjabi youths who intended to migrate to the US to do so only through legal channels.
The youths, most of them from Punjab, were detained seven months ago after they allegedly tried to sneak into the US from the Arizona border.
They were shifted from Arizona to Utah and then to Miami. Those who have been shifted from Utah to Miami are Navdip Singh (from Delhi), Jagminder Singh (Begowal, Kapurthala), Harpreet Lal (Mehatpur near Nakodar), Nishan Singh (Begowal), Arshdeep Singh (Moga), Kamaljit Singh (Kapurthala), Sandip Singh (Begowal), Sandeep Singh (Begowal), Gurbinder Singh (Begowal), Jaspreet Singh Kang (Ferozepur), Ranjodh Singh Dhaliwal and Bikram Kumar (Jalandhar), Malkiat Singh from Hariana, Yashpal Singh (Jalandhar) and Sarthak Kumar Patel (Gujarat).
Those who are still lodged in Salt Lake city jail (Utah) include Harjinder Singh (Begowal), Anmol Pal (Jalandhar), Kuldip Singh (Jalandhar), Rahul Guru (Nawanshahr), Sukhwinder Singh (Jalalpur), Pardip Kumar (Haryana), Inderjit Singh Parmar (Ajnoha), Balwinder Singh (Mansoorpur, Mukerian) and Sukhjinder Singh (Ludhiana district).
A raw deal
At least 29 youths, most of them from Punjab, were detained seven months ago after they allegedly tried to sneak into the US from the Arizona border
Many of them were shifted from Arizona to Utah and then to Miami
The detainees were on an indefinite strike against the "autocratic" attitude of the jail staff
Five of them have been shifted to solitary barracks while another four were forced to call off strike
