Sectarian views have never been an issue in nearby areas, say residents

Manmeet Singh Gill

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 19

The attack on Nirankari Bhavan in Adliwal village, Rajasansi, has left the residents perturbed, who rule out the possibility of communal tension in the region. They say that Nirankaris have never indulged in any such activity that upsets others. “They are busy with themselves. Since they don’t bother others, no one troubles them,” say residents.

The Sant Nirankari Mission, after setting up its branch here in Adliwal village around four years ago, has made a sound presence in the villages around Rajasansi. Its religious congregation witnesses the presence of around 300 followers.

Area residents reported that the sect didn’t take up any formal recruitment drive. People usually joined the sect through family friends or relatives.

Meanwhile, some of the followers of the sect are scared after the grenade attack that left three dead and 22 injured. Harinder Singh, whose grandson Sandeep (17) was killed in the blast, said, “Our children went there sometimes. I am not a follower. I don’t even know the exact location of the bhavan,” he said.

One of the three killed in the blast is Kuldeep Singh, a mason from Baggae village. He had started visiting the Nirankari Bhavan in Adliwal around four months ago. It was around the same time Harwinder Singh Laddi, a well-to-do farmer, also joined the sect. Laddi is admitted to a hospital since the Sunday blast.

Baggae village is 15 km from Adliwal and there is no other Nirankari Bhavan in the entire rural belt.

While talking to The Tribune, a group of elders attending Kuldeep’s cremation reported that around 12-13 families from the village were followers of the sect.

A village elder, Charan Singh, says, “There is nothing like they are different. The issue of their presence has never been discussed here so it is hard to believe that there is any communal tension behind the attack.”

The bhavan at Adliwal, merely 1 km from Rajasansi, which owes much of its prosperity to its international airport, was built around four years ago. The weekly congregation is usually attended by 250-300 people.

Raj Birinder Singh, a farmer from Adliwal, whose residence is just 50 metre away from the bhavan, said, “They (sect followers) bother no one, so nobody bothers them. Peace has always prevailed here. The incident has left the residents panicked. Everyone is worried.”

While the bodies of Kuldeep Singh and Sandeep Singh were cremated on Monday, the family members of Sukhdev Kumar (58) have decided to wait for his daughter’s arrival from New Zealand. She will come after her four years of stay abroad to attend her father’s funeral.