Making shield of Guru Granth Sahib to attack police can’t be real Waris of Punjab: CM

Two days on, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann breaks silence on Ajnala police station siege with swipe at separatist leader Amritpal Singh

Two days after a mob led by Sikh separatist leader and Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh clashed with police personnel and laid siege to the Ajnala police station, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann broke his silence and said those who took shield of Guru Granth Sahib to reach the police station cannot be the “real Waris of Punjab”.

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann broke his silence on the Ajnala police station incident on Saturday, saying those who took shield of Guru Granth Sahib while attacking policemen cannot be the “real Waris of Punjab”. (HT file photo)

“Anyone making Shabad Guru Shri Guru Granth Sahib a shield to protest at police stations cannot be called the Waris (heir) of Punjab and Punjabiat,” Mann tweeted in Punjabi on Saturday.

The tweet is seen as a direct swipe of the chief minister at Amritpal, 29, the radical leader of Waris Punjab De.

Punjab Police chief Gaurav Yadav held a meeting of police personnel up to the rank of station house officers (SHOs) and directed them to deal with law-and-order situations sternly.

On Friday, Yadav had said that the demonstrators who stormed the Ajnala police station on Thursday used the holy scripture as a shield and attacked personnel, injuring six cops, including former India hockey player and superintendent of police Jugraj Singh, in a cowardly manner.

The DGP tweeted, “Held a state-level review meeting through video-conference with senior police officers, range IGs/DIGs/CP/SSPs, all sub-divisional DSPs and all SHOs in Punjab to review action against organised crime, drug trafficking and terrorism.”

“Have directed all officers to do professional policing, build capacity and police infrastructure in the state,” he added.