In 2005, it was announced that Balwant Singh Rajoana would be hanged under the death penalty for the murder of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh on March 31 in Patiala. Balwant Singh Rajoana was considered a hero among many Sikh youths in Canada, who stated that upon death he would become a martyr. The announcement angered many Sikhs across the world. Many of these angered Sikhs were both Punjabi and converted from Canada, spurring civil unrest among Canadian Sikhs. The World Sikh Organization of Canada had called on the United Nations to try to make India abolish the death penalty and save Rajoana from death.