By Alkesh Sharma, IANS,
Chandigarh : Even as 17 Indian youths face the gallows in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), their families in Punjab – poor, illiterate and helpless – have placed their faith in NGOs, god and the government.
Sixteen youths from Punjab and one from Haryana were last month sentenced to death by a court in Sharjah for killing a Pakistani man and injuring three in January 2009 following a fight over the illegal liquor business.
The murder took place in Al Sajaa area of Sharjah in the UAE. The victim died of stab wounds and also suffered brain damage, police said.
“After getting news of my brother’s arrest, I several times called at his employer’s office and at the Sharjah jail. But all these efforts went futile because they only speak Arabic and do not understand Punjabi,” Jhony Singh, brother of 27-year-old Navjot Singh who is lodged in Sharjah jail told IANS.
“We are totally dependent on human rights activists from Punjab. It is really frustrating and we are feeling quite helpless. We have no money at home but I am still trying to take a loan from a private moneylender so that I can go there to meet Navjot,” said Jhony, a resident of Raipur in Ludhiana district of Punjab.
The convicted men in the UAE are between 17 and 30 years of age and all of them belong to lower middle class families.
Mukhtiar Singh, father of Sukhjinder Singh who is another Indian prisoner in Sharjah, told IANS: “People have told us the Indian government is making an effort and they have also hired some lawyers to defend our sons. But we are illiterate and we are not very clear on what is going on. I only want my son to return safely to Punjab.”
“Sukhjinder always wanted to go abroad and we sold a huge portion of our property to fulfil his dream. He had gone there around three years ago and was working well. We really don’t know whom we should approach at this point of time,” said Mukhtiar Singh, a resident of Miani Bhagu Puria village in Kapurthala district.
Recently, representatives of a Punjab-based NGO, Lawyers For Human Rights International (LFHRI), returned from Sharjah after meeting the Indian convicts there.
Rajya Sabha MP and former union minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa had also gone there to meet the Indians facing death row and assured them of full support from the Punjab government.
“My brother is innocent, he cannot kill anybody. But how can we, sitting miles away, prove it before the court?” Jaswindwer, whose brother Kulwinder Singh is lodged in Sharjah jail, told IANS.
“We are really unfortunate and totally dependent on the NGOs coming forward for our help. We also want the Indian government to seriously take up this case,” Jaswindwer Singh added.
A native of Bangsipura village in Ludhiana district, he said: “Kulwinder had gone to Dubai three years ago after paying Rs.100,000 to an agent, but he was duped as he was not provided the promised job. After a long struggle he managed to get a good job but now he has been falsely implicated in this case.”
The Indian consulate has hired a law firm in the UAE to defend the Indian convicts. The next date of hearing is May 19.
“The NGO and human rights activists are godsend for us at this difficult time. We are very satisfied with their work and we are also giving them every kind of help,” Pyare Lal, father of another Indian convict, Subhan, told IANS.
(Alkesh Sharma can be contacted at [email protected])