Gopeshwar, June 17 (PTI) Chamoli Police has arrested four Sikh pilgrims for assaulting and injuring locals with swords following a minor argument about vehicle parking in the Karnaprayag market area, police officials said on Wednesday.
Police said the arrested pilgrims, Mantri Singh (21), Jasanpreet Singh (23), Ajay Singh (23), and Satwinder Singh (21), are from Mohali in Punjab. Karnaprayag Police Station House Officer Vinod Thapliyal told PTI that the incident occurred on Tuesday and action was taken after a resident, Gajpal Singh, lodged a complaint against the accused.
According to police, the dispute occurred near the Krishna Palace Hotel between local traders, a resident named Prakash Rawat, and a group of Nihang pilgrims who were returning from the Sri Hemkund Sahib pilgrimage.
Police said during the altercation, two Nihang pilgrims allegedly attacked Rawat with sharp weapons.
“Two other Nihang pilgrims then attacked locals who tried to intervene, injuring four people. One of the seriously injured persons was shifted to a hospital in Dehradun in an air ambulance, while the condition of the other three is stable,” police said.
Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar said, “We have arrested all four accused, and a case has been registered under sections 281, 125, 109, 352, and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
He said legal action will be taken against people who disrupt law and order or compromise public safety, and those individuals will not be spared. He said police are maintaining surveillance of the area to prevent any trouble, and the situation is under control.
Meanwhile, Sardar Sewa Singh, the manager of the Gurdwara Sri Hemkund Sahib Management Trust, Govindghat, has appealed to devotees visiting the holy shrine to maintain harmony, discipline, and peace.
In Tuesday night’s appeal, the trust management urged devotees to travel with devotion and dignity, keeping the pilgrimage’s significance and purpose in mind.
The Trust requested devotees to refrain from actions that hurt religious sentiments, avoid disputes, and cooperate in maintaining law and order and social harmony during the journey.
The appeal noted that weapons in Sikhism are meant for the religion’s protection, not for misuse. “Therefore, devotees should not bring unnecessary weapons during the pilgrimage, and children should be specifically discouraged from carrying any kind of weapons,” it said.
The Trust management advised devotees to contact relevant officials to lodge complaints about disputes or issues, rather than taking the law into their own hands. PTI COR AKY ASD ASD
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