- Double standards of Akali Dal, SGPC stood exposed
- Police crackdown on demonstrators violation of their civil & political rights
more than 80 towns of the country in Nov 1984. The shutdown call was given by the Dal Khalsa, AISSF and SAD (Panch Pardani) under the aegis of Khalsa Action Committee to pay homage to martyrs, to give verdict against the politics of genocide and to protest against denial of justice.The Punjab government, however, going against the spirit of democracy, ordered police crackdown on peaceful protestors. The Punjab police on the instructions of its political masters harassed the second rung leaders of the said organizations to thwart the bandh call. Due to egoistical reasons, certain groups claiming to be Panthic sided with the government to make the call unsuccessful. So much so that the SGPC going against the collective will of the Panth, kept its offices and educational institutions opened while all other institutions including DAV remained shut on the issue.
The leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal stood exposed. On one hand they organized a candle march to pay homage to those who were massacred in Delhi and elsewhere, on the other hand they mis (used) official machinery to quell the demonstrators protesting against the genocide.
The police dragged the protestors led by Bhai Mohkam Singh, Harcharnjit Singh Dhami, Satnam Singh Paonta Sahib, Baba Baljit Singh Daduwal and Karnail Singh Peermohammad who were squatting on rail tracks at Amritsar early morning and took them forcibly to police station from where they were released in the late evening.
Similarly, the SAD (Panch Pardani) leader Harpal Singh Cheema along with his team sat on railway tracks at Fatehgarh Sahib. They too were taken into preventive custody.
Following are 2 news reports released by news agencies PTI and IANS on the day.
Sikh leaders detained, let off.
Chandigarh, Nov 3 (PTI) Police today detained some Sikh leaders in Amritsar, who were squatting on rail lines, as part of the Punjab bandh call given by some Sikh groups including Khalsa Action Committee (KAC), the Dal Khalsa against the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
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Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh and KAC Chairman Bhai Mokham Singh were among those taken into preventive custody by the Amritsar police this morning.
Kanwar Pal Singh claimed that they were peacefully squatting on the rail lines near the Amritsar railway station when the police "forcefully had us removed from there".
While, police claimed that they tried to stop the Amritsar-Delhi Swarn Shatabdi.
Kanwar claimed that the police had made around 300 preventive arrests throughout the state to foil their bandh.
He also claimed that those shopkeepers and other commercial establishments which voluntarily wanted to join the bandh were also forced to open their shops by the police at various places in the state.
The police, however, denied the allegation.
The bandh call was given by the Dal Khalsa and others, who described the 1984 incident as "genocide of Sikhs".
Last year on November 3, various Sikhs groups had given a call to protest alleged inaction against the 1984 riots accused. Meanwhile, the bandh has evoked partial response in Jalandhar with the rail and road traffic plying normal in the area.
The banks, commercial establishments and schools were closed in the wake of the bandh call. There was, however, no report of any violence from the region. Security has been beefed up, police said.
Punjab bandh call: Radical Sikh leaders arrested
CHANDIGARH, Nov 3 (IANS) Punjab police on Wednesday arrested radical Sikh leaders as a preventive measure after many groups called a state wide shutdown to highlight the delay in justice to victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
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"Keeping in mind the law and order situation in the state, we have made some preventive arrests. Only those people were arrested who were trying to damage public property and to halt rail traffic. We did not use force against anybody," a police officer said here Wednesday.
The Khalsa Action Committee (KAC), the Dal Khalsa and some other Sikh groups had Oct 28 given the call for state wide bandh.
Around 200 agitators, including KAC chairman Bhai Mokham Singh and Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh, were arrested from Amritsar railway station Wednesday morning, according to police.
"We were peacefully protesting and sitting on the railway tracks. Punjab police used force and dragged us from there. They arrested around 200 Sikh protestors from there and have kept them in detention in different police station," Kanwarpal Singh said.
"We had given this call on humanitarian grounds to pay homage to those who had lost their lives in 1984 riots. We were not disturbing the peace or law and order situation. This is a clear case of justice denial and violation of human rights," Kanwarpal Singh said.
Singh added that Punjab Police have arrested around 100 Sikh leaders from various parts of the state to foil their bandh call.
Shopkeepers who on their own wanted to join the bandh were forced by the police to open their shops, he claimed.
In their bandh call, Sikh leaders said they would not stop private vehicles, and hospitals and chemist shops would be allowed to function normally.
However, Wednesday's bandh largely turned out to be a lukewarm affair, with police disallowing the protestors to gather in large numbers anywhere.