Police crackdown: ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ organisers put off office opening

With the police allegedly not allowing radical leaders to reach Talwandi Sabo on Thursday, the organisers of ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ (congregation of Sikhs) had to postpone the programme of setting up a control room-cum-office for the November 10 congregation.

With the police allegedly not allowing radical leaders to reach Talwandi Sabo on Thursday, the organisers of ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ (congregation of Sikhs) had to postpone the programme of setting up a control room-cum-office for the November 10 congregation.

The organisers of last year’s ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ had announced to inaugurate an office on Thursday for works related to the ‘Sarbat Khalsa’, to be organised on November 10 this year in Talwandi Sabo.

The three parallel jathedars (high priests) appointed by last year’s ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ including sikh religious preacher Baljit Singh Daduwal, who had been appointed as ‘jathedar’ of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib in Talwandi Sabo in the last year’s ‘Sarbat Khalsa, Dhian Singh Mand, appointed as acting ‘jathedar’ of Akal Takht and Amrik Singh Ajnala, appointed as ‘jathedar’ of Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib, besides some other leaders were to reach the town for the office opening.

Leader of United Akali Dal (UAD) Gurdeep Singh, said police cracked down at his houses in Bathinda city and at Burj Mehma village.

District president of Shiromani Akali dal (SAD) (Amritsar) Parminder Singh Balianwali, who also had to take part in the programme, alleged that he was put under house arrest and was not allowed to step out throughout the day. Gurdeep said Daduwal wasn’t allowed to enter Punjab from his native village while Mand and Ajnala were also stopped on their way.

Meanwhile, the radicals reached Dadu village, native village of Daduwal in Haryana and set-up a temporary office for the ‘Sarbat Khalsa’. However, refuting the allegations, Bathinda SSP Swapan Sharma said the district police didn’t detain or put under house arrest any person.