Nirankari attack: Police raid houses of Sikh activists in Amritsar

GS Paul
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, November 20

A day after the preliminary investigation pointed to the possibility of involvement of local youth in the Nirankari Bhavan attack, police raided the houses of local Sikh activists in the wee hours of Tuesday.

Members of hardliner groups alleged that Punjab Police had detained several youths for questioning with no concrete evidence.

Without divulging the details, Inspector General of Police, Border Range, SPS Parmar, said, “We are in the process of summoning them for interrogation related to the blast,” he said. 

According to information, Dal Khalsa member Gurjant Singh was taken in custody.

The police also raided the house of Sikh Youth of Punjab president Paramjit Singh Mand, but he was away. According to information, his family was told to convey him to report at the police station in Mand instantly.

Ranjit Singh Damdami Taksal, who is associated with Sikh Students Federation, said the police also visited his house.

Expressing grief over the loss of lives in the attack, Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh Bittu said ‘witch-hunting’ had been started by the police. “Besides, Paramjit Singh Akali, another Sikh activist, was also approached by the police but since he was not keeping well he was also told to report at the police station concerned for investigation,” he said.  

He said the police and investigative agencies should probe the attack thoroughly without any prejudice and not see it only from the prism of the Sikh-Nirankari clash of 1978.

He appealed to leaders of all parties to act responsibly and refrain from accusations.

“It’s just a repeat of the police action in the ’80s and early ’90s. We do not mind questioning by the police, but the way they are behaving is absurd. Police can summon them for questioning, but it’s not proper that dozens of policemen raid their houses in the wee hours just because they hold different views,” he said.