Two Gurdaspur boys facing death penalty in UAE return

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, August 2

Three more Punjab boys, who were facing death penalty in the UAE before they were rescued by Dubai-based philanthropist Surinder Pal Singh Oberoi after paying blood money, arrived at the Amritsar airport on Sunday morning.

Navneet Kumar and Hardeep Singh belong to Gurdaspur while Ajay Kumar hails from Nawanshahr.

The boys were a part of a group of 14 expatriates, including 12 from India and two from Pakistan, who were facing murder charges before being rescued by the construction magnate after paying Rs 75 lakh blood money to the kin of the victims.

According to Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust run by Oberoi, a clash between two groups broke out in Sharjah on December 31 in 2015, in which 23-year-old Ashif Ali of Samrai town in Jalandhar district and 25-year-old Varinderpal Singh of Pandoori village of Kapurthala district were killed. All 14 youths were charged with the double murder and sent to jail in Dubai on January 1 in 2016.

“I approached Nirmal Singh, a relative of victim Varinderpal and apprised him of the pitiable situation of the family members of the accused,” he said. On May 21 in 2018, Oberoi took Nirmal Singh to the Dubai court and told the judge that the family members of the victims were ready for a “compromise”.

Oberoi said after getting a nod from the court, he handed over the blood money to the victims’families.