Mumbai Sikh-Dera Sacha Sauda clash: Difference between revisions

Mumbai, Balkar Singh killed

He was shot in a clash between some Sikhs and members of Dera Sacha Sauda.

June 20th, 2008

At around 6.30 pm, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Raheem was going to attend a programme at Nirmal Lifestyles mall in Mulund.

When Sikhs of the Mumbai area got the news, a 500 strong assembly of Sikh gathered to protest. They entered the mall where they started shouting anti-Dera Sacha Sauda slogans. This resulted in altercations between the protestors and Singh's followers after which the former resorted to stone-pelting.

The Dera men were carrying lathis and daggers and some had stenguns. The Dera chief left the place at around 6.45 pm and a bodyguard is believed to have opened fire after some Sikhs attempted to block his motorcade. One protesting Sikh, Balkar Singh was seriously wounded, while two passerby's were injured.

Balkar Singh later was taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed. Balkar Singh was 50 years old.

Dera's chief's aide admits firing

A bodyguard of Dera Sachcha chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh had admitted that he had fired a round from his pistol at a crowd here on Friday, a senior Mumbai police official said on Saturday.

An official said the bodyguards, Jaidev Singh, Satnam Aroda and Rajguru Taneja had confessed to having opened fire, one from his licensed Mauser pistol. They have been charged with murder as well as offences under Arms Act.

Jaidev is one of the three bodyguards arrested in this connection. Eleven more, who were with the Dera chief at the time of the incident, had been detained and would be arrested soon, police said, adding they would be booked for rioting and assaulting.

Sikhs to block rail traffic in Punjab on June 25, 2008

Amritsar: Chief of Damdami Taksal Baba Harnam Singh Dhuma in a meeting held with various Sikh religious organizations at Jallandhar has demanded immediate arrest of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh along with his body guard for allegedly killing a Sikh at Mumbai last evening.

Dhuma said that if the killer of Balkar Singh was not arrested by June 24, all the Sikh organizations would interrupt rail traffic and no train would be allowed to move from Amritsar to Delhi on June 25.

Dhuma informed officials that Rail Traffic would be interrupted on June 25 from morning 8.00 a.m to 7.00 p.m and further line of action would be announced in the evening on same day on June 25 against the Dera Sacha Sauda chief.

SGPC announces Rs. 5 lakh for Sikh killed in Mumbai

Amritsar: Shriomani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Saturday announced Rs.5 lakh for the family of the Sikh who was killed in firing by security guards by Dera Sachcha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in Mumbai.

SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar is going to Mumbai tomorrow to hand over the cheque of Rs.5 lakh to the family of Balkar Singh who was killed.

Meanwhile, Makkar has sought an appointment with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the issue of Dera Sacha Sauda.

In Amritsar, activists of various Sikh organizations under the aegis of Khalsa Action Committee today staged a protest at against the killing of Balkar Singh.

In a memo to Deputy Commissioner signed by Mohkam Singh of Damdami Taksal, Kanwarpal Singh of Dal Khalsa, Gurjatinderpal Singh and others, the demonstrators urged Punjab government to ask Maharashtra government to book Gurmeet Ram Rahim along with his bodyguards in a murder case.

Earlier, they blocked the traffic at Bandari bridge for half an hour to reigster their protest. The Sikh leaders accused central as well as Haryana Congress government of failing to arrest the Dera head for his alleged blasphemous acts. A similar protest was also held at Hoshiarpur.

The Dera chief had invited the wrath of the Sikh community a few months back after he allegedly tried to imitate the dress and activities of the tenth Sikh spiritual leader Guru Gobind Singh.

• Video of incident at sikhsangat.com [1]

References

from news releases:

• sikhsangat.com
• others to be cited

Category