Deadlock continues over Khalsa’s cremation
TALKS FAIL Sikh leaders refuse to end protest or cremate the body until they get a written order from government accepting their demands
Though the Haryana government agreed to meet the Punjab-origin Sikh hardliners’ demand , the deadlock continued over the cremation of former militant Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa, who died on Tuesday after jumping-off a high-rise water tank.
Though Bakshish Singh Virk, BJP’s Assandh MLA and the only Sikh face of the party who was deputed by the Haryana government to break the logjam, said that the government has agreed to meet the hardliners’ demands, the Sikh leaders refused to end the protest or cremate the body until they got a written order from the government accepting their demands.
The deadlock continued despite three rounds of parleys on Friday as the Haryana government refused to give a written order accepting conditions such as transfer of Kurukshetra superintendent of police (SP) Abhishek Garg, suspension of station house officer (SHO) Jhansa and Ismailabad, besides registration of fresh First Information Report (FIR) against the cops by name under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The police have already registered an FIR under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code against unknown policemen.
The contention of Khalsa’s family members and supporters is that the police intentionally registered the murder case against unknown cops as proving the murder charge would be impossible during the trial in the court.
After Sikh activist Khalsa jumped to death from a high-rise water tank in his native village, Thaska Ali, his family members refused to cremate the body.
They have kept the body of Khalsa in the freezer.
Khalsa is survived by his wife Jasbir Kaur and a son.
On Friday, Punjab-based proKhalistan faces like Giani Dhian Singh Mand, Amrik Singh Ajnala, Baljit Singh Daduwal and activists of Sikh outfits such as Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) and United Akali Dal etc arrived here to spearhead the agitation.
Mand, Ajnala and Daduwal were appointed parallel jathedars of Akal Takht, Kesgarh Sahib and Takht Damdama Sahib respectively during the November 2015 Sarbat Khalsa (Sikh congregation) in Amritsar spearheaded by the Sikh radicals in the wake of statewide protests in Punjab over the spate of sacrilege incidents of Guru Granth Sahib.
The parallel jathedars were on the forefront of leading the agitation and the talks with the government functionaries.
Haryana government deputed Bakshish Singh Virk, BJP’s Assandh MLA and only Sikh face of the party, along with RC Mishra, additional director general of police (ADGP) and SS Phulia, Kurukshetra deputy commissioner (DC) to hold talks with the three parallel jathedars.
While RC Mishra and SS Phulia left the talks venue at 9.35pm, refusing to shed light on the fate of the negotiations, Virk
continued holding talks with the leaders of the protesters.
NO WRITTEN ORDERS YET BUT DEMANDS ACCEPTED
After four hours of closed door meetings, Virk said, “The government has agreed to their meet of demands including suspension of SHOs, investigation by an IAS officer and registration of fresh FIR under section 306 of IPC.”
On, transfer of SP and the DSP, Virk said that the issue of transfers was also being taken up with the chief minister and ADGP RC Mishra and the demands have been accepted.
But he did not give answer when the orders will be issued in this regard.
About cremation, Virk said this decision will be taken by the community members.
HARDLINERS CONTINUE THEIR TOUGH STANCE
“We won’t trust the government till we get a written order about transfer of Kurukshetra SP Abhishek Garg, suspension of two SHOs and registration of FIR against them under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of IPC and suspension of Pehowa DSP Dheeraj Kumar and a magisterial investigation into the death and the role of police,” said Baljit Singh Daduwal.
He added that the decision about cremation and further course of action will be taken by members of community, who are here for meeting.
Earlier led by the parallel Jaththedars, the Sikh hardliners addressed the protesters and raised their demands. Most of the speakers were against cremation of the body till the Bhog Ceremony slated for March 29.
However, Khalsa’s father Ajit Singh disagreed with the demand of not cremating the body, saying that Khalsa’s body is getting decomposed.
“My son has already sacrificed his life for the cause of the community. His body is getting decomposed as it is already three days old now,” said Ajit Singh, Khalsa’s father. Following this, the parallel jathedars held a closed-door meeting that was chaired by Mand. When the trio of Mand, Ajnala and Daduwal were about to start their closed-door meeting, Assandh MLA Virk reached the agitation site. He urged them to hear his views. Virk was followed by Kurukshetra DC and ADGP RC Mishra.
The pro-Khalsa negotiators accused Kurukshetra police of harassing them. The police had restricted entry into the village as a security measure that had irked the protesters. They also alleged that some people were also detained by the police and were not allowed to attend the meeting called at 3pm.
We won’t trust the govt till we get a written order on transfer of K’shetra SP, suspension of 2 SHOs and a case of abetment to suicide. BALJIT SINGH DADUWAL, Sikh hardliner
My son has already sacrificed his life for the cause of the community. His body is getting decomposed as it is already three days old now. AJIT SINGH, Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa’s father