Rising above differences, various panthic groups on Friday held a united show to campaign for candidate Mandeep Singh, brother of Sandeep Singh, who is an accused in the murder case of Shiv Sena (Taksali) leader Sudhir Suri, for the Tarn Taran bypoll.
The voting for the Tarn Taran assembly segment will be held on November 11, and the counting of votes will be conducted on November 14.
The candidacy of Mandeep was announced by jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh-led Akali Dal Waris Punjab De. He later made it clear that he is a common candidate of the Panth, not of any single organisation.
When Mandeep visited the Golden Temple and paid obeisance at Akal Takht on Friday to seek blessings, representatives of various groups, including Simranjit Singh Mann-led Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), Giani Harpreet Singh-led SAD’s breakaway faction, Damdami Taksal, Sarbat Khalsa-appointed parallel acting jathedar of Akal Takht Dhian Singh Mand, radical leader Jarnail Singh Sakhira and All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) president Kanwar Charat Singh also turned up.
After paying obeisance at Akal Takht, Mandeep along with Faridkot MP Sarabjit Singh Khalsa and Amritpal’s father Tarsem Singh started a road show from Chheharta gurdwara. After passing through different areas of Tarn Taran assembly segment, the show culminated at Tarn Taran town.
{{/usCountry}}After paying obeisance at Akal Takht, Mandeep along with Faridkot MP Sarabjit Singh Khalsa and Amritpal’s father Tarsem Singh started a road show from Chheharta gurdwara. After passing through different areas of Tarn Taran assembly segment, the show culminated at Tarn Taran town.
{{/usCountry}}On September 10, Sandeep had allegedly attacked three former police officers, convicts in fake encounter cases, inside the Patiala Central Jail. On September 18, one of the victims, former inspector Suba Singh, 83, who was serving life term for the 1993 Tarn Taran fake encounter case, died of injuries. The other two cops, former DSP Gurbachan Singh and former inspector Inderjit Singh, had suffered injuries in the attack.
Shiv Sena (Taksali) chairman Manik Suri and Paras Suri, sons of slain leader Sudhir Suri, strongly condemned Mandeep’s candidature, stating, “Allowing the family of killers to contest elections is an insult to both democracy and humanity. It sends a dangerous message — commit crimes, shed innocent blood and then enter politics!”