CHANDIGARH:A plea was filed on Monday in the
Punjab and Haryana HC seeking directions to protect the sovereignty and integrity of the country, while Damdami Taksal chief Baba Harnam Singh Dhumma issued a statement from San Francisco against the crackdown on
Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh and his followers and asked chief minister Bhagwant Mann to hand over Amritpal and other arrested Sikhs to the community.
Punjab police, however, says Amritpal is still evading arrest.
Other Sikh bodies condemned the crackdown. SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami accused the Punjab government of “trapping innocent Sikh youths in false cases” while
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal condemned the “puppet” AAP regime in Punjab for the “undeclared emergency and reign of repression” and the indiscriminate arrest of “innocent Sikh youth”, especially Amritdharis (initiated), on mere suspicion. Sukhbir criticised the government for resorting to “extra-constitutional” methods and demanded immediate release of all innocent youths arrested in the ongoing crackdown against Amritpal and his aides.
The petition, filed by an activist from Ambala and currently living in Zirakpur, sought conclusive steps against people attempting to spoil peace and brotherhood in Punjab and to initiate legal action against them. “Unfortunately, now again in Punjab, terrorism is trying to raise its head and one Amritpal Singh is trying to become a catalyst for radicals and anti-social and anti-India elements,” the plea read.