A group of Nihang Sikhs camping at the Paonta Sahib Gurudwara in Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh, have refused to leave until their demands are fulfilled. Over 150 Nihangs have been camping at the gurudwara and are demanding the release of four Nihangs who were arrested in Uttarakhand following a clash with locals.
The Nihangs held a meeting to decide the future course of action and refused to return to Punjab until their demands were met. They have given the Uttarakhand administration two days to fulfil their demands. Earlier on Thursday (25th June), a Nihang Jatha (group) took out a march and tried to enter Uttarakhand via Dehradun; however, they were stopped by the local police. A stand-off occurred between the Nihangs and the local police, which ended on Friday (26th June) after the Nihangs deferred their march to Uttarakhand for two days.
Police said some members of the group allegedly removed the barricades while displaying kirpans and entered the Dehradun district limits. The sudden development triggered a security alert in the state capital. Following this, Premnagar and adjoining areas were put under heavy security cover late at night. However, the group took an alternate route and entered Dehradun via the Paonta Sahib-Dehradun highway and then moved through the Gorakhpur-Shimla bypass before reaching the city.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Jagdeep Singh Akali, who is leading the Nihang jatha, said that the Uttarakhand administration sought two days to “fulfil their demands”. However, he said that the Nihangs would resume their protest if the arrested Nihangs are not released by the police.
They accused the Uttarakhand police of committing atrocities on the four Nihangs involved in the clash. They have also accused the local administration of acting in a biased manner and selectively acting against the jailed Nihangs. The Nihangs want the Uttarakhand police to withdraw the FIR filed against the four Nihangs and lodge counter-FIRs against the locals with whom the Nihangs clashed.
VIDEO | Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh: After three-day standoff at Nagrasu Gurdwara in Rudraprayag district and a protest march at the Uttarakhand-Himachal Pradesh border, Nihang Sikhs are still in talks with the Uttarakhand government over their demands.
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The current development relates to an incident that happened on 16th June in Karnaprayag market in Chamoli in Uttarakhand. A dispute erupted between the locals and a group of Nihangs returning from the Hemkund Sahib Yatra on 5-6 bikes. The bikes of the Ninags collided with a car parked in the market, leading to an altercation that soon turned violent.
Some of the Nihangs reportedly attacked locals with swords and sharp weapons, leaving 3-4 people injured. The condition of one of the injured persons, who is a local hotelier, was critical, and he was airlifted to AIIMS Rishikesh. Outraged local traders and residents blocked the Badrinath National Highway (NH) for approximately five hours in protest against the incident. The blockade caused a traffic tailback stretching 25 kilometres from Gauchar to Nandprayag, disrupting the Char Dham Yatra.
The police convinced the protestors to open the blockade after an FIR was lodged and four Nihangs were arrested in connection with the incident. Following the arrest, a group of Nihangs reached Nagarasu Gurdwara on the Badrinath Highway, and asked the committee of the Gurudwara for help in releasing the arrested Nihangs. But as the committee refused to get involved in the matter, the angry Nihangs clashed with the sevadars of the shrine on 20th June 20, and took an elderly man hostage.
After that, the Nihang Sikhs occupied the Gurudwara for days. But the situation was resolved and they left after several rounds of negotiations involving the local administration, the gurdwara management, and Nihang representatives from Punjab.
