Over 150 Nihangs camp at Paonta Sahib gurdwara vow to stay
Shimla: A standoff deepened at the Himachal-Uttarakhand border as more than 150 Nihang Sikhs camped inside Paonta Sahib gurdwara in Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh, vowing they will not return to Punjab until four members arrested in Uttarakhand are freed.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the Nihang jatha held deliberations Saturday to chart its next move. “We will not return to Punjab until the four arrested members are released,” group said.
The current deadlock traces back to June 16, when a dispute between residents and a group of Nihangs turned violent in Karnaprayag market, Chamoli district, Uttarakhand. A few locals and one Nihang were injured.
Police registered a case and arrested four Nihangs. Tensions flared again Thursday when a Nihang jatha tried to force entry into Uttarakhand through Dehradun, clashing with heavy police deployment at the border. They pushed through security barricades to march toward Hemkund Sahib, a Sikh pilgrimage site in Uttarakhand.
After discussions, the group returned escorted by police and took shelter at Paonta Sahib gurdwara, a few kilometres from the interstate border.
Jagdeep Singh Akali, who is leading the Nihang jatha, told media that the Uttarakhand administration had sought two days to “fulfil their demands.” He said the planned protest march in Uttarakhand was suspended for 48 hours, but warned the agitation would resume if the arrested Nihangs were not released.
Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Pramendra Dobal said a few people and one or two vehicles had crossed the border checkpoint but agreed to return after talks.
In a related incident on June 20, around half a dozen Nihangs climbed onto the roof of Nagarasu Gurdwara on the Badrinath Highway, took an elderly man hostage and demanded release of those arrested in the Karnaprayag clash. The shrine was vacated June 23 after negotiations between local administration, gurdwara management and visiting sect members from Punjab. The standoff at Paonta Sahib continues as the two-day deadline set by the administration runs its course.
