Punjab: Bid to stop Himachal vehicles in Hoshiarpur

Activists of SAD (Amritsar), Awaz-e-Quom, Sikh Naujwan Front, Guru Ravidas Force, Young Khalsa Group, Nihal Singh Dal (Panj Aab) and other outfits alleged that Sikhs were being frequently targeted in the neighbouring state

Activists of various Sikh organisations on Wednesday marched towards the Himachal Pradesh border in Hoshiarpur to stop the entry of vehicles from the neighbouring state in protest against removal of flags bearing Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s photos from vehicles of some pilgrims in Manali. They had heated arguments with police officials near Adamwal when the latter asked them to disperse.

An HP bus was vandalised in Kharar of Mohali district on Tuesday. (HT photo)

From Gurdwara Singh Sabha on the railway road, the protesters drove towards Chintpurni road but their cavalcade was stopped near Adamwal on the outskirts of the city where they held a demonstration against the HP government.

Activists of SAD (Amritsar), Awaz-e-Quom, Sikh Naujwan Front, Guru Ravidas Force, Young Khalsa Group, Nihal Singh Dal (Panj Aab) and other outfits alleged that Sikhs were being frequently targeted in the neighbouring state and their symbols of faith were being disrespected. They alleged that the Congress and the BJP leadership in HP was tarnishing the image of Sikhs. “Displaying flags of leaders is not a crime. The situation will worsen if such incidents happen again,” said the protesters who dispersed after handing over a memorandum to the officials present there.

Meanwhile, the Dal Khalsa has dissociated itself from the incident in which a bus of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) was vandalised in Kharar, Mohali, on Tuesday. Dal Khalsa activists had on Monday forcibly pasted Bhindranwale’s posters on vehicles carrying HP number plates in retaliation after latter’s photos were removed from Punjab bikers in Himachal.