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Punjab bandh: Sikh body seeks arrest of Dera chief
Published on Wed, Jul 23, 2008 at 11:08 in Nation » India section
Tags: Dera Sacha Sauda, Bandh , Chandigarh
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Chandigarh: Rail and road traffic were adversely affected in several parts of the state on Wednesday following a day-long bandh sponsored by a Sikh body Damdami Taksal seeking arrest of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
The activists of Sant Samaj - a conglomerate of various Sikh organisations - squatted on rail tracks near Vala village in Amritsar district and stopped the Garib Rath Express, officials said.
The Railway authorities, as a precautionary measure, have stalled Amritsar-Delhi Shatabdi Express, Jan Shatabdi express, Sachkhand Express and Amritsar-Delhi Super Express at Amritsar Railway station.
The road traffic on national highways and other roads were also disrupted at Fatehgarh, Phagwara and Moga, the officials said.
The Sant Samaj has given a bandh call seeking arrest of the Dera chief for his alleged involvement in the killing of three Sikhs including one each at Mumbai and Dabwali in the state recently.
Meanwhile, Samaj convener Harnam Singh Khalsa has assured that the bandh "will be peaceful and essential services will not be disrupted."
However, private institutions remained closed at several places of Punjab anticipating trouble during the bandh.
The security agencies of Punjab and Haryana have made elaborate arrangements with the deployment of additional troops to prevent any untoward incident.
The bandh call had a little impact in Haryana. Transport, including rail and road, commercial establishments, offices and educational institutions functioned as usual, official sources said here.
However, the bandh had some effect in Sirsa district, the headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda, whose chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is at loggerheads with the Sikhs.
Some shops were closed in Sirsa district and Dabwali town, which witnessed violence last week between Dera followers and Sikhs in which one person was killed and several were injured.
"All roads leading to Sirsa and Dabwali have been heavily barricaded. We have already declared 41 villages in the district as sensitive. There is heavy presence of BSP and RAF forces besides policemen of Haryana Armed Police to maintain the law and order," Sirsa Deputy Commissioner V Umashankar said.
Curfew still continues to be in place in Dabwali town, though authorities relax it during the daytime.
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