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Moga, Amid heavy police deployment, hundreds of Sikh activists assembled at Rode, the ancestral village of late Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale, in the district today to protest Akal Takht’s decision to pardon Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a blasphemy row.
When the police tried to disperse them, the activists clashed with them. The police resorted to a minor cane-charge, but no one was injured. The police took into custody SGPC member Jagtar Singh and 15 supporters.
Earlier, the Sikh activists gathered at a local gurdwara to chalk out a plan for holding protests in rural areas. They want to raise awareness among the rural Sikh folk to ensure maximum participation in the ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ on Diwali. The venue for the meet is yet to be confirmed.
SGPC member Jagtar Singh said there was great resentment among the rural Sikhs over the verdict of the Akal Takht Jathedar and other high priests. Jagtar Singh rejected the Sikh clergy’s decision to pardon dera chief. He said Sikh organisations would continue their protests.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim had dressed like the Guru Gobind Singh in 2007.
The activists also objected over policemen disrespecting the Sikhs more often. They demanded that the policemen who allegedly removed the turban of former councillor Sukhwinder Azad on September 30 in Moga be booked.
