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==Alert sounded in Punjab, 20 June, 2008==
[[Image:Criminals_Leave_Scene.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Criminals Leaving Spot after killing Balkar Singh]]


Amritsar: The government has sounded an alert in the state after the killing of a Sikh in the firing by guards of Dera Sacha Sauda in Mumbai. Two persons were injured in the firing. The SGPC has sought the immediate arrest of the dera chief.
==Mumbai, Balkar Singh killed==
--------
{{tocright}}
'''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.


'''Four Separate reports on the wounding of three Sikh protestors in a confrontation by a bodyguard of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim Singh.'''
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.


Balkar Singh who  was taken to a nearby hospital later succumbed.
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.
[[Image:Pune_Sangat_Block_Expressway.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Mumbai - pune Highway Blocked]]
Balkar Singh later was taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed. Balkar Singh was  50 years old.


A more recent report from Daily News Analysis lists the deceased as Barkarar Singh:[http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1172533]
==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.


Police set up teams  at Navi Mumbai, Thane, Panvel, all of which are the exit points from Mumbai  to nab the culprits.
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.


*June 20: A Sikh man, later identified as Balkar Singh, 42, was killed and another injured in firing by the bodyguard of [[Dera Saccha Sauda]] chief [[Ram Rahim Singh]] outside a mall in Mulund suburb when a clash between a group of Sikhs and Dera followers turned violent on Friday.
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.                                                                                                                         
[[Image:Sirsathug.jpg|thumb|right|300px|before Incident]]
==Sikhs to block rail traffic in Punjab on June 25, 2008==


The Sikhs had shouted anti-Dera slogans inside the Lifestyles mall during a visit by Rahim Singh on Friday evening. 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, a police officer said. Angry Sikhs later blocked all roads to Mumbai leading from the eastern suburbs, including the eastern expressway, demanding the arrest of those involved in the firing. Sikh protesters claimed the Dera men were carrying lathis and daggers and some had stenguns.
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.


The police said action would be taken against the bodyguard. Mumbai areas with a large number of Sikhs like Chembur remained disturbed till late in the night.
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.
*One person was killed when the security guard of Ram Rahim Singh, the controversial spiritual leader of the Dera Sachcha Sauda sect, fired at protestors, shouting slogans against him at Mulund in North-east Mumbai tonight.


Ram Rahim had come to Mulund to attend a programme at the Nirmal Lifestyle mall at 1930 hrs, when some people, protesting his visit, started shouting slogans.
==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.


The security guard, who has not been identified, fired at the protestors, killing one of them and injuring another, police said.
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.
[[Image:20080622sikh4.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Protests At Bangalore, karnatka]]
Meanwhile, Makkar has sought an appointment with Prime Minister [[Manmohan Singh]] to discuss the issue of [[Dera Sacha Sauda]].


Majority of the demonstrators were from the Sikh community, who blocked the entire stretch of the LBS road in the area, said an eye-witness.
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.


Ram Rahim Baba and his security guard are holed up in a building and the protestors are demanding the arrest of the duo.
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.


Police have cordoned off the area.
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.
*One person was killed on Friday in firing by a bodyguard of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim Singh, which is at loggerheads with the Sikh clergy, during clashes between Sikhs and supporters of the group in a mall in a north-east Mumbai suburb, police said.


The clashes occurred during a visit by Singh in the Nirmal Lifestyles
*Video of incident at sikhsangat.com / You must scroll to bottom of page to view the video.[http://www.sikhsangat.org/news/publish/asia_news/Sikh_man_killed_in_firing_by_Dera_chief_s_bodyguard123424.shtml]
mall in suburban Mulund late on Friday evening, they said.


A group of Sikhs allegedly went into the mall and 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, they said.
Mulund, Mumbai (KP) - On Friday, personal bodyguards of the criminal Sirsa Sauda cultist Gurmeet Ram Rahim opened fire on a group of Sikhs whom were protesting the Bombay visit of the Sirsa cult leader.


Singh's bodyguard fired at the crowd at around 1845 hours during the melee injuring one person, they said, adding the victim succumbed after being taken to a nearby hospital.
Ram Rahim, who is accused of multiple murders and rapes, was visiting a shopping mall in this north-eastern suburb of Bombay when several Sikh youths protested his presence. In response, his bodyguards fired more than 20 rounds of ammunition from their assault rifles into the crowd of Sikhs, resulting in the death of Bhai Balkar Singh of the Bir Khalsa organization and injuring dozens of others.


The Dera Sacha Sauda chief left the mall soon and his motorcade has been stopped in the jurisdiction of the Khopoli police station in neighbouring Raigad district, they said.
The Bombay attack brought back the memory of the 1978 Nirankari Sikh massacre at Amritsar Sahib and Kanpur in which dozens of Sikhs were killed by heretic pseudo-Nirankaris.


Singh had drawn the ire of Sikhs for allegedly hurting their religious sentiments after he appeared dressed as Guru Gobind Singh at a public function in Haryana's Sirsa town where a religious commune headed by him is situated.
According to eyewitnesses the Baba was immediately escorted out of the mall and fled the crime scene within one of the 50 vehicles in his entourage. The news of the attack quickly spread throughout Bombay’s Sikh community, who began blocking traffic in various parts of the city. Sikh activists quickly began to track his caravan and converged to stop the cultists from fleeing.


----
Realizing the route to the Bombay airport was too dangerous, Ram Rahim‘s 50 vehicle entourage then drove north onto the Pune-Bombay Expressway.  As news spread of Ram Rahim’s location, thousands of Sikhs began to converge on the expressway and brought it to a standstill for several hours.
*Mumbai, June 20: A 50-year-old Sikh was today killed in firing by the bodyguard of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim Singh, who earned the wrath of Sikh clergy, outside a suburban mall during a protest against the spiritual guru by a Sikh group, which turned violent, the police said.


A group of Sikhs shouted anti-Dera slogans inside the Nirmal Lifestyles mall in suburban Mulund during a visit by Dera chief to the place this evening, a senior police officer said.
Meanwhile, Sikhs assembled at a Raensabaee Kirtan program (all night hymn singing) in Puna, upon hearing the news of the Bombay attack, gathered with the local Pune Sangat and split up into several units and began surveillance of the Pune National Airport, the opposite side of the Pune-Bombay Expressway.  The protestors then blocked the expressway in hopes of stopping Ram Rahim from escaping through this artery.


The protest by Sikhs led to altercations between Dera chief ‘s supporters and the Sikh group, which turned violent after the group allegedly started pelting stones, he said.
In an interview with PW, one of the protestors assembled on the expressway stated that after several hours of blockage, the Sangat became convinced that Ram Rahim‘s entourage must have taken a detour, and finally allowed the traffic to move.  According to the protestors, the Pune police cited them under IPC 135, and summoned them to appear in court.


The Dera chief left the mall immediately at around 6.45 pm for a programme scheduled later in the evening.
The Sikh protestors accuse the central and state governments of turning a blind eye towards the transgressions of the Sirsa cult leader. Last year, the Sauda Cult leader dressed himself as Guru Gobind Singh Ji and mimicked the sacred Sikh Amrit-Sanchar ceremony carried out by Guru Gobind Singh Sahib on Vaisakhi of 1699, resulting in international outcry by the Sikh Nation.


“While the motorcade was passing for the programme, some Sikh protesters attempted to block the way and charged towards the vehicles when a private bodyguard is suspected to have opened fire,” the officer said.
Since then, numerous clashes between his followers and the Sikh community have occurred.  On May 17th, 2007, Bhai Kanwaljeet Singh of Sunam was martyred by the cultists near one of his deras in Bathinda.


One person suffered grievous injuries in the firing and was taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed. The deceased was identified as Balkar Singh Thakur Singh (50), he said. — PTI
Bhai Balkar Singh is the second Shaheed in the agitation towards bringing the criminal cultist to justice. Reaction to this latest incident was swift, major Sikh organizations, including the Akali Dal Amritsar, Damdami Taksal, Akhand Kirtani Jatha, and the Singh Sabhas demanded the immediate arrest of the cult’s criminal mastermind and his bodyguards.  


----
Large rallies and protests have been planned across Punjab and India this weekend in response to this incident.


Following the shocking incident, around 500 Sikh protesters blocked the National Highway-10 in Sirsa, (hometown of Ram Rahim), Haryana. The protestors were demanding action against those responsible for firing on Sikhs in Mumbai on late Friday.
One person is dead and two injured after a pitched battle broke out between supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda and a Sikh group in Mumbai.


A 50 years old Sikh was killed in firing by the body guard of Dera Saccha Sauda chief Ram Rahim on Friday outside a suburban mall in Mumbai during a protest against the spiritual guru by a Sikh group which turned violent. A group of Sikhs shouted anti-Dera slogans inside the Nirmal Lifestyles mall in suburban Mulund during a visit by Ram Rahim to the place this evening.


The victim, who was killed in the firing, was identified as Balkar Singh, while two passers-by suffered injuries. The Sikh community in Mumbai has announced that they will not cremate Balkar Singh, unless the “Baba” is arrested.
Reports say a bodyguard of Dera chief Ram Rahim Singh opened fire on the other group. Images of the clash have been captured by a cellphone camera and show the groups clashing with each other.  


----
 
The Dera chief had gone to visit the Nirmal shopping complex in Mulund where members of the Sikh group were also present. An altercation ensued, followed by exchange of fire between the two groups.
 
 
Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister RR Patil has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
 
 
More than 1,000 Sikh protestors, including women, blocked Lal Bahadur Shastri road and the Eastern Express Highway.
 
==References==
from news releases:
*sikhsangat.com
*others to be cited
[[Category:Sikh Sangat-Dera Sacha Sauda clashes]]
 
 
 
Category

Latest revision as of 20:48, 27 June 2008

Criminals Leaving Spot after killing Balkar Singh

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.

Mumbai - pune Highway Blocked

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.

before Incident

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.

Protests At Bangalore, karnatka

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 / You must scroll to bottom of page to view the video.[1]

Mulund, Mumbai (KP) - On Friday, personal bodyguards of the criminal Sirsa Sauda cultist Gurmeet Ram Rahim opened fire on a group of Sikhs whom were protesting the Bombay visit of the Sirsa cult leader.

Ram Rahim, who is accused of multiple murders and rapes, was visiting a shopping mall in this north-eastern suburb of Bombay when several Sikh youths protested his presence. In response, his bodyguards fired more than 20 rounds of ammunition from their assault rifles into the crowd of Sikhs, resulting in the death of Bhai Balkar Singh of the Bir Khalsa organization and injuring dozens of others.

The Bombay attack brought back the memory of the 1978 Nirankari Sikh massacre at Amritsar Sahib and Kanpur in which dozens of Sikhs were killed by heretic pseudo-Nirankaris.

According to eyewitnesses the Baba was immediately escorted out of the mall and fled the crime scene within one of the 50 vehicles in his entourage. The news of the attack quickly spread throughout Bombay’s Sikh community, who began blocking traffic in various parts of the city. Sikh activists quickly began to track his caravan and converged to stop the cultists from fleeing.

Realizing the route to the Bombay airport was too dangerous, Ram Rahim‘s 50 vehicle entourage then drove north onto the Pune-Bombay Expressway. As news spread of Ram Rahim’s location, thousands of Sikhs began to converge on the expressway and brought it to a standstill for several hours.

Meanwhile, Sikhs assembled at a Raensabaee Kirtan program (all night hymn singing) in Puna, upon hearing the news of the Bombay attack, gathered with the local Pune Sangat and split up into several units and began surveillance of the Pune National Airport, the opposite side of the Pune-Bombay Expressway. The protestors then blocked the expressway in hopes of stopping Ram Rahim from escaping through this artery.

In an interview with PW, one of the protestors assembled on the expressway stated that after several hours of blockage, the Sangat became convinced that Ram Rahim‘s entourage must have taken a detour, and finally allowed the traffic to move. According to the protestors, the Pune police cited them under IPC 135, and summoned them to appear in court.

The Sikh protestors accuse the central and state governments of turning a blind eye towards the transgressions of the Sirsa cult leader. Last year, the Sauda Cult leader dressed himself as Guru Gobind Singh Ji and mimicked the sacred Sikh Amrit-Sanchar ceremony carried out by Guru Gobind Singh Sahib on Vaisakhi of 1699, resulting in international outcry by the Sikh Nation.

Since then, numerous clashes between his followers and the Sikh community have occurred. On May 17th, 2007, Bhai Kanwaljeet Singh of Sunam was martyred by the cultists near one of his deras in Bathinda.

Bhai Balkar Singh is the second Shaheed in the agitation towards bringing the criminal cultist to justice. Reaction to this latest incident was swift, major Sikh organizations, including the Akali Dal Amritsar, Damdami Taksal, Akhand Kirtani Jatha, and the Singh Sabhas demanded the immediate arrest of the cult’s criminal mastermind and his bodyguards.

Large rallies and protests have been planned across Punjab and India this weekend in response to this incident.

One person is dead and two injured after a pitched battle broke out between supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda and a Sikh group in Mumbai.


Reports say a bodyguard of Dera chief Ram Rahim Singh opened fire on the other group. Images of the clash have been captured by a cellphone camera and show the groups clashing with each other.


The Dera chief had gone to visit the Nirmal shopping complex in Mulund where members of the Sikh group were also present. An altercation ensued, followed by exchange of fire between the two groups.


Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister RR Patil has ordered an inquiry into the incident.


More than 1,000 Sikh protestors, including women, blocked Lal Bahadur Shastri road and the Eastern Express Highway.

References

from news releases:

  • sikhsangat.com
  • others to be cited


Category

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