Search the Internet          Tips

Peter Bleach threatens hunger strike

Peter Bleach, serving a life sentence at the Presidency Jail in Calcutta in the Purulia arms-drop case, has threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike if the British government fails to secure his release on remission in two weeks.

Bleach in a handwritten statement said here that he had conveyed this decision to Bernie Andrews, a British High Commission official who visited his cell on February 24, but could not assure him that British diplomats in Delhi would pursue his case or press British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook's request to Indian government for his release.

"Under Article 14 of the Constitution of India, as read with Article 21, my continued detention in jail is discriminatory and became illegal the moment the Russian crew were released. I have now been in jail for more than seven months for no reason other than the fact that I am a British citizen," he said.

Pointing out that Cook wrote to the Indian government on December 4 to treat Bleach at par with the Russian crew and relase him, the statement said "There had been no response from the Indian authorities whatsoever."

West Bengal Jail Minister Biswanath Chowdhury, however, said he was not aware of any such statement.

Bleach and five Russian air crew were arrested on December 22, 1995 from Bombay airport where they had landed to refuel their aircraft.

They were returning from Phuket, Thailand, where they had flown after dropping a large cache of arms and ammunition at Purulia on December 17 that year.

Kim Davy, the key accused in the case, however, managed to escape immediately after landing at Bombay.

On February 2 last year, a city sessions court sentenced Bleach and the five Russians to life imprisonment for abetting conspiracy to commit offences against the government of India and West Bengal, besides other offences.

In March last year, Bleach and the Russians filed their appeals in the Calcutta High Court.

Rejecting the bail petition of the Russians, the court directed the CBI to prepare the paper book within one year of hearing of appeals.

Even as the appeals were pending, the Union home Ministryminformed the court on July 21 last year that President K R Narayanan has been pleased to remit the sentence of imprisonment and fine imposed on the Russians and all of them were released on July 22.

According to Bleach's legal counsel R K Khanna, his client felt 'aggrieved and discriminated against' as he still had to remain in jail while his five co-accused, having been convicted on identical grounds and received identical sentences, were freed.

"Bleach had claimed equal treatment under Article 14 and after his cries for mercy went unheard, he was left with no other alternative," Khanna said.

Tell us what you think of this report