United Akali Dal (UAD) leader Satnam Singh Manawa was presented in a local court by the police on Tuesday in a case registered against him for blocking roads and cutting trees under sections 382, 341 and 427 (mischief causing damage) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in the aftermath of protests held across Punjab after incidents of sacrilege of ‘birs’ of Guru Granth Sahib.
Manawa was one of the organisers of the Sarbat Khalsa at Chabba village in Amritsar on November 10.
The Sikh radical activist had played the key role of stage secretary during the Sarbat Khalsa. He was lodged in the Pathankot jail after the Amritsar police registered a case of sedition against him for organising Sarbat Khalsa and stirring radical elements. On Tuesday, the Harike Police brought him from the Pathankot jail for apperance in the local court at Patti.
Advocates Pritam Singh Bhullar and Surinder Singh Gharyala, who appeared in the court on Manawa’s behalf as legal counsels, said the court of civil judge Amandeep Singh had scheduled the next hearing on January 2 next year.
Interacting with the mediapersons, Manawa said there was no law and order in the state as the Badal government was crushing democratic rights related with political dissent and freedom of expression.
“Sikhs do not believe in the commission constituted by the state government to probe the Bargari sacrilege case as the police have not named anyone in the FIR yet. Atrocities being committed against the Dalits are also a cause of concern,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“Sikhs do not believe in the commission constituted by the state government to probe the Bargari sacrilege case as the police have not named anyone in the FIR yet. Atrocities being committed against the Dalits are also a cause of concern,” he added.
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