Sarbat Khalsa 2016 Deferred; Army Personnel Deployed at Talwandi Sabo

Posted: 08 Nov 2016

 

TALWANDI SABO, Punjab—Sarbat Khalsa 2016 has been officially deferred.  Today, while speaking with Sikh24, Bhai Baljit Singh Daduwal compared the present times with those of 1978 and 1984 and blamed the Akali Government for atrocities.  Meanwhile, the Punjab government has also deployed five companies of CRPF (Civil Range Police Force) at Talwandi Sabo.  Total 400 CRPF personnel have been deployed as each company of CRPF consists of 80 personnel.
Shiromani Akali Dal led Punjab government has taken the decision on the basis of inputs by intelligence agencies.  In addition, the Punjab police also made several preventive arrests to bar Sikh activists from participating in Sarbat Khalsa 2016 event. The Punjab police had conducted massive raids in the wee hours of November 6 and more than 2000 preventive detentions have been expected to be made by Punjab police ahead of event. However, ADGP (Intelligence) Hardeep Singh Dhillon has confirmed preventive detention of around 200 Sikh activists.
It is pertinent to note here that the Deputy Commissioner of Bathinda Basant Garg had earlier denied the permission to hold Sarbat Khalsa 2016 event at Talwandi Sabo. He had cited the vulnerability to law & order and communal harmony on the basis of report submitted by Senior Superintendent of Police (Bathinda) Swapan Sharma.
The Sarbat Khalsa 2016 organizers had then moved a petition in Punjab & Haryana High Court hearing on which is due for November 8.  The petition was today withdrawn by the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) with no specific reason.