On Sunday, a shariah court in Sharjah, UAE, passed death sentence to Kuldeep Singh, 24, of Khukhrana village, 24 km west of Moga for killing a Pakistani previous year. Singh becomes one of the 17 Indians sentenced to death.

It should be noted that 16 out of these 17 men are from Punjab and all are aged 22-30. there names are Sukhjinder Singh, Arvind Singh, Daljit Singh, Sukhjot Singh, Kashmir Singh, Taranjit Singh, Navjot Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Ram Singh, Satnam Singh, Subhag Singh, Satguru Singh and Baljit Singh. The state government as such has taken up the decision to take up the matter with the Prime Minister's (PM's) office.

On Wednesday, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal requested to PM Manmohan Singh to send a high-level team to UAE. He explained that because of the absence of legal support from the Indian embassy in UAE, the 17 were facing death.

Badal feels it was a matter of regret that the external affairs ministry woke up to the grave situation after the court pronounced its judgment.

In the mean time, a demonstration was held in Jaiton by Akali leader Baldev Singh Ramoowalia, asking the affected families to join hands. He told, "We will do everything to save their lives. We have decided to extend all possible help in fighting the case."