Dubai: An Indian man convicted of murdering a fellow Indian in a bootlegging case has escaped the gallows in Sharjah after the non-profit Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust paid blood money to the victim’s family and secured a pardon.
Dubai businessman S.P. Singh Oberoi, who heads the trust and has helped 93 others in similar situations, said, “The convict Sandeep Singh, who was awarded death penalty by the Sharjah Court following the murder of Mandeep Singh in a bootlegging brawl in November 2007, had appealed against the judgement in the Appeals Court. Subsequently, the sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. However, when the case went to the highest court, the death sentence was upheld again.”
He said he approached the victim’s family to reach a compromise but they were initially reluctant.
“But in December 2012, we paid them the blood money and submitted the attested compromise documents to the court.”
He said the court waived the death sentence and awarded Sandeep Singh three years in prison as he had already served 10-plus years.
“Some paperwork remained and it was not until July 18 that the release order was issued. Indian Consulate issued him an outpass and we bought him a ticket to fly back to Amritsar on Tuesday,” said Singh.
Asked what drives him to help out in such cases, he said, “It’s just a small attempt to provide a second chance to the boys as they have families back home.”
