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NEW DELHI: Former Indian Youth Congress president Maninderjit Singh Bitta wants to immolate himself after the Supreme Court commuted the death sentence of former pro-Khalistani terrorist Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar to life sentence on Monday.
Bhullar was given the death sentence for the deadly attack on Bitta outside his office in New Delhi in September 1993 in which Bitta survived but nine others were killed. His two bodyguards were among the dead. Bitta was the Youth Congress president at that time. A year earlier in July 1992, he had lost a leg in a bomb attack in Amritsar.
The Supreme Court on Monday commuted Bhullar’s death sentence to life term after the government said that it will no objection to it. The court had taken the government to task for not deciding on his mercy petition for eight years. It had also asked the government why the death sentence shouldn’t be reduced to life term.
Bitta being taken to safety by his security men after the attack.
Bitta said the Congress leadership has backstabbed him by showing leniency to Bhullar.
“After the apex court ruling, I don’t want to live anymore as we have been today defeated by ‘political terrorism’ which exists in the Congress Party,’’ said Bitta who has been sidelined from the Congress and heads his own All-India-Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF).
“I will ask Sonia Gandhi to allow me to immolate myself as terrorism has won today and people, who are fighting against terrorism have been defeated,’’ Bitta added.
He said he won’t file review petition in the Supreme Court, but ask the court to give him permission for self-immolation.
Bhullar was given the death sentence by the trial court in August 2001.
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