Nihangs Camp at Paonta Sahib Gurdwara, Demand Release of Arrested Members
Over 150 members of the Nihang sect are camping at the Paonta Sahib gurdwara in Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh, demanding the release of four of their members who were arrested in Uttarakhand following a clash with locals.
The Nihang groups have held discussions to decide their next steps and have stated that they will not return to Punjab until the arrested members are released, according to sources on Saturday.
On Thursday, a group of Nihangs attempted to enter Uttarakhand through Dehradun, which is a few kilometres from Paonta Sahib. They clashed with police who were deployed in large numbers to prevent their entry.
The standoff between the Nihangs and the Dehradun administration at the Himachal-Uttarakhand border ended on Friday after the Nihangs agreed to postpone their march into Uttarakhand for two days.
Jagdeep Singh Akali, leading the Nihang group, told the media on Friday that the Uttarakhand administration had sought two days to address their demands, so the planned protest march has been suspended for now. He warned that the agitation would resume if the arrested Nihangs were not released.
The incident began on June 16, when a dispute between residents and a group of Nihangs escalated into violence in the Karnaprayag market in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand. Several locals and one Nihang were injured, and police registered a case, arresting four Nihangs.
On Thursday evening, the Nihang group clashed with police and pushed through security barricades to march towards Hemkund Sahib, a Sikh pilgrimage site in Uttarakhand. After meeting with police, the group left Dehradun under police escort and took shelter at Paonta Sahib gurdwara, located a few kilometres from the interstate border.
Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Pramendra Dobal said that a few people had crossed the checkpoint at the border, and one or two vehicles crossed, but they agreed to return after discussions.
In a related incident on June 20, around half a dozen Nihangs climbed onto the roof of the Nagarasu Gurdwara on the Badrinath Highway and took an elderly man hostage, demanding the release of those arrested in the Karnaprayag clash. The shrine was vacated on June 23 after discussions between the local administration, gurdwara management, and sect members visiting from Punjab.
