Fasting Sikh activist Surat Singh Khalsa shifted to hospital

The district administration and Ludhiana rural police shifted the fasting Sikh activist Surat Singh Khalsa to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) late night on Friday following his ill health.

The district administration and Ludhiana rural police shifted fasting Sikh activist Surat Singh Khalsa to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) here on Friday night following ill-health.

Heavy police force has been deployed at the hospital that is preventing his supporters from entering the hospital.

Khalsa’s son Ravinder Pal Singh said deputy commissioner Rajat Agarwal and Ludhiana rural SSP Ravcharan Singh Brar arrived at Khalsa’s house near here on Friday night and decided to shift him to hospital.

He said the family and supporters resisted the move, but the police forcibly shifted Khalsa to hospital.

Ravinderpal said his father is unconscious but the police had restricted their entry to the hospital ward. He said Khalsa is on a hunger strike that would continue till Sikh prisoners were released from jail.

On September 26, the police and district administration had shifted Khalsa to Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh. He was released from the hospital following the high court orders, as the family had filed a writ petition alleging that the police had illegally detained Khalsa in the hospital.

Khalsa is on a hunger strike since January 16, demanding the release of Sikh prisoners lodged in jail even after completing their sentences.

Meanwhile, a large number of Khalsa’s supporters gathered at the DMCH.