Sikh activists storm Haryana Gurdwara
A lot of drama ensued as Sikh religious activists led by Jagdish Singh Jhinda stormed into a Sikh shrine in Haryana and took charge of it. They were demanding a set up of a separate Sikh committee for Haryana. They left the shrine after eight hours.
THE HIGH voltage drama over who would take charge of the Chhavin Patshahi Gurdwara ended peacefully in Haryana on late Sunday evening (September 13).
A group of Sikhs had stormed into the shrine premises, demanding the set up of a Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, which would be preside over by Jagdish Singh Jhinda. The situation was defused by police officials who persuaded the group to vacate the shrine's premises. Another group of Sikh activists led by Dr Avtar Singh Makkar, president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) was also coming to the shrine to regain control of it.
Earlier, Raghujit Singh Virk , the Vice President of SGPC had arrived in the Mission office from Delhi and met KK Sandhu, IG of the Ambala police range. Virk had warned both the Kurukshetra district administration and the HSGPC leaders to get vacate the gurdwara premises or Sikh sangats would take charge of the matter on their own.
According to eyewitnesses, police officials had many rounds of talks with Jhinda to convince him to leave the Sewa of this Gurdwara and avoid group clashes, which would create law and order problems during the assembly polls.
Jhinda was only convinced after he had a telephonic conversation with Chief minister BS Hooda, who assured him of the formation of the separate body before November 1. It was only then that Jhinda agreed to leave charge of Sewa of the Gurdwara, sources claimed.
Later talking to the media persons, Jhinda said that if the Haryana government backs out of its promise, the group would take charge of all Sikh shrines in the state on November 1. “Today's act of Gurdwara sewa in Kurukshetra is just a symbolic act and should prove to be an eye opener to the SGPC and Haryana government. Otherwise the sikhs of Haryana would simply take what they had been craving for the last five years,” he added.
Dr Makkar, on the other hand, challenged Jhinda to occupy the Gurdwara again if he claimed to have the power to take over all the shrines in the state. "We have come to take charge of the Gurdwara. Nobody on this earth can take forcible possession of any Gurdwara anywhere in the world. Why (did) Jhinda flee from it before our arrival,” he questioned. He alleged that this act was committed at the behest of Haryana CM who was interfering in the religious affairs of the Sikh community.
Makkar alleged that Jhinda had committed sacrilege by violating the Maryada of the Gurdwara. He alleged that the latter's activists had entered the shrine with swords, lethal weapons and lathis, forcibly removed the head Granthi from his seat and bruised a devotee, Karamjit Singh Kang who was in the Gurdwara praying and had resisted the activities of Jhinda and his men there. Commenting System
He also claimed that Jhinda and his followers broke open the the chest of the Gurdwara and took away the money kept there. He warned Jhinda to get ready to face the consequences of what he had committed, saying that the shrine management would file a FIR against them and would approach the union Home minister and the Prime minister on this issue.
KK Sandhu, IG of Ambala Police range said that peace had been maintained at every cost and the matter was resolved amicably amongst the Sikhs. He rebutted the allegation of the SGPC leaders, saying that the police had no role in the activity except that of maintaining law and order
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