Dehradun/Nahan, Jun 26 (PTI) The prolonged standoff between Nihangs and the Dehradun administration at the Uttarakhand border here ended with the group returning to Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh early on Friday, following negotiations with authorities.
Their return brought respite from a tense situation at the Kulhal checkpoint in the Vikasnagar area, where a large group of the Sikh sect clashed with the police and pushed through security barricades to march towards Hemkund Sahib, a Sikh pilgrimage, in Uttarakhand.
After their return, the Nihang group joined others from their sect at Paonta Sahib Gurdwara, where discussions are still on with the Uttarakhand Police and administration.
According to officials, the Nihangs have called off their march to Uttarakhand, which they had embarked on over the arrest of four of the sect’s members after a road fight in Karnaprayag market in Chamoli.
Jagdeep Singh Akali, who is leading the Nihang Jatha, told reporters that the Uttarakhand administration has sought two days to fulfil their demands.
The plan to proceed to Uttarakhand has been suspended for the next two days, he said, but warned of an agitation again if their demands are not met and the arrested Nihangs are not released.
After meeting the police, the group, which had gathered at the Race Course Gurdwara in Dehradun, left the premises around 3.30 am in two vehicles under police escort across the state border. The Paonta Sahib Gurdwara is only a few kilometres away.
A heavy police presence dominated the Uttarakhand-Himachal Pradesh border on Thursday, following the announcement of a march by the Nihangs to Dehradun.
The Kulhal-Vikasnagar outpost was turned into a fortified police zone, with personnel in riot gear standing behind multi-layered metal barricades.
Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pramendra Dobal said manforce had been deployed throughout near the Kulhal border since Thursday morning.
“A few people had crossed the area (the checkpoint), and one or two vehicles proceeded along the route. We spoke to them at length, and they, too, agreed to return,” Dobal said, adding that he hoped peace, harmony, and mutual goodwill would continue.
Dehradun District Magistrate Ashish Chauhan said the situation was resolved amicably.
“Our Nihang sahibans returned to Paonta Sahib. Around 150 Nihang Sikhs already present in Paonta Sahib extended their full cooperation, bringing the situation under control,” Chauhan said.
The group had reportedly set out from Mohali in Punjab.
Superintendent of Police (Rural) Pankaj Gairola had earlier said that a section of the protesters breached the barricades to march towards Dehradun in Uttarakhand.
When intercepted at the border, a confrontation broke out, and dozens of Nihangs, dressed in traditional blue attire and armed with swords, rods, and sharp-edged weapons, used force to break through barriers.
The members of the sect declared they would not return to Punjab until four Nihang members arrested in connection with the clash in Karnaprayag market were released.
On June 16, a dispute between residents and another set of Nihangs escalated into violence, leading to a few locals and a Nihang getting injured.
Following the clash, police registered a case and arrested four Nihangs.
A section of the Sikh sect saw this as “one-sided” action by the administration.
In another related incident, around half a dozen Nihangs climbed onto the roof of the Nagarasu Gurdwara on the Badrinath Highway on June 20, and took an elderly man hostage, demanding the release of those arrested in the Karnaprayag clash.
The shrine was vacated on Tuesday after discussions between the local administration, gurdwara management, and members of the sect visiting from Punjab.
On Wednesday, a five-member delegation of Nihang Sikhs met Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami at his official residence and later called on the director general of police at the police headquarters to demand a swift resolution of the Karnaprayag incident.
Meanwhile, Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police Navneet Singh Bhullars said a special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted to investigate the Karnaprayag altercation. PTI AKY BPL VN VN
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