Amid a police crackdown in opposition to radical preacher Amritpal Singh and his associates, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Monday requested the Punjab authorities to cease arresting “innocent” Sikh youths. The apex gurdwara physique additionally strongly condemned the “excesses” being dedicated by the police in opposition to Sikh youths within the state for the previous few days. Punjab Police on Saturday launched a serious crackdown in opposition to Amritpal and has arrested 112 individuals, together with members of ‘Waris Punjab De’, an outfit headed by him. The state authorities has suspended cell web and SMS providers until Tuesday midday.
In a press release right here, Dhami mentioned it isn’t proper to “deliberately target innocent Sikh youths in Punjab”. “It is not in the interest of the state to arrest youths by creating fabricated stories without any charge. Punjab has seen many eras and it is very unfortunate that the present government of the state has added another chapter to the situation,” SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami mentioned in a press release.
Punjab’s Sikh youths haven’t solely contributed to the progress of the state but additionally that of the nation and the world, he mentioned. “But it is sad that Sikh youths are looked at with suspicion repeatedly. The present government of Punjab is also making a similar mistake,” he mentioned.
The authorities “should not create an atmosphere of terror in the state in the guise of any phenomenon”, Dhami mentioned, including that the “misuse of government machinery only for political gain” isn’t justified. Advising the Punjab authorities to cease such actions, the SGPC president mentioned if the federal government is honest and severe, it ought to present employment alternatives to the youth.
Dhami’s remarks got here a day after Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh mentioned governments ought to chorus from creating “an atmosphere of terror in Punjab for political interests”. The Jathedar of Akal Takht, which is the very best temporal seat of Sikhs, additionally mentioned governments ought to chorus from adopting the “practice of oppression and illegal detentions” of the youth who converse for his or her rights in democratic method.
Dubai-returned Amritpal was anointed the top of ‘Waris Punjab De’ final 12 months. The group was based by actor and activist Deep Sidhu who died in a highway accident in February final 12 months. Amritpal managed to provide the police a slip and escaped their dragnet when his cavalcade was intercepted in Jalandhar district on Saturday.
Last month, Amritpal and his supporters, a few of them brandishing swords and weapons, broke by barricades and barged into Ajnala police station on the outskirts of Amritsar metropolis, and clashed with police for the discharge of one among his aides. Six policemen have been injured within the incident.
Punjab Police filed an FIR on February 23 in reference to the incident. On Sunday, the police slapped two recent FIRs in opposition to the Khalistan sympathiser and his supporters.
