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Nakodar police firing victims remembered at Golden Temple
A ceremony was organised behind Akal Takht in Golden Temple on Saturday to commemorate the victims of 1986 Nakodar Police firing victims.
As a section of Sikh bodies are gearing up to intensify ongoing protest against delay in getting the justice in 2015 Behbal Kalan police firing victims, a ceremony was organised behind Akal Takht in Golden Temple on Saturday to commemorate the victims of 1986 Nakodar Police firing victims.
This is for the first time that such as remembrance event has been held for the Nakodar incident victims.
Nakodar incident happened on February 4, 1986, in which four Sikh youth were killed in an indiscriminate police firing at Nakodar in Jalandhar district. These youth were part of a procession which was peacefully protesting against the ‘sacrilege’ of Guru Granth Sahib.
Family of the victims, which are still awaiting justice even after 37 years, expressed deep distress over the “injustice” while attending the bhog ceremony of akhand path (uninterrupted recitation of Guru Granth Sahib) organised in the shrine complex in presence of Sikh hardliners. On behalf of the Sikh organisations including SGPC, radical Sikh leaders presented all the kin ‘siropas’ (robe of honour) on the occasion.
Four Sikh youth Ravinder Singh, Charmal Singh, Harminder Singh and Baldhir Singh fell to police bullets in firing. All of them were office bearers of the All India Sikh Students Federation and Surjit Singh Barnala was the chief minister of Punjab at that time.
The Akhand Path was organised by the NRI family of one of the victims, Ravinder Singh, at Gurdwara Baba Gurbakash Singh within Golden Temple precincts.
Baldev Singh, father of the victim, while talking with the media said, “We the members of the families ran from pillar to post to see the guilty officers behind bars but to no avail,”
Human rights activist Paramjit Singh Khalra, Dal Khalsa leader Kanwar Pal Singh and Sarbjit Singh Ghuman, Akal Federation president Narien Singh, Advocate Baljinder Singh Bajwa, and others paid tributes to the victims. The Sikh hardliners lambasted Shiromani Akali Dal governments for shielding the guilty officers, responsible for killings the Sikh youth.
