Khalistani militant Balwant Singh Rajoana has escaped the gallows without asking for it. Even though Rajoana had made clear his intentions of not contesting the death penalty for eliminating the then Punjab Chief Minister and 16 others, the Centre on Tuesday commuted the same to life imprisonment.
Interestingly, the clemency orders came on the plea filed by the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in 2012, and not by Rajioana, who had all along been defying any mercy.
It has been learnt that the orders have been conveyed to Punjab Government and the Chandigarh Administration.