The Amritsar bandh called to mark the 42nd anniversary of Operation Bluestar remained largely peaceful, while the police stayed on high alert throughout the day on Saturday. Heavy security was deployed around the Golden Temple, while personnel in plain clothes were also stationed inside the shrine to prevent any untoward incident. The bandh call was given by the Dal Khalsa.
Police personnel and paramilitary forces were deployed at various roads and chowks in the walled city leading to Darbar Sahib as well as at key locations, including the railway station, bus stand and several religious places.
The heightened security came days after anonymous emails threatening to bomb temples across Punjab were received.
Most shops remained closed throughout the day. While some traders began reopening their establishments in the evening, shopkeepers largely observed the bandh voluntarily. Apart from persuading a government bank branch in the Town Hall area to shut for the day, no reports emerged of traders being forced to close their shops.
Most markets wore a deserted look, while vehicular traffic remained significantly lower than on normal days.
More than 4,000 police personnel, along with five companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), including the BSF, ITBP and RAF, were deployed across the city.
In a statement, Dal Khalsa leader Kanwarpal Singh Bittu said the military action at the Golden Temple and Akal Takht remained etched in the collective memory of the Sikh community. He said the organisation endorsed the Akal Takht Jathedar’s rejection of the anti-sacrilege law and warned the Punjab Government against interfering in Sikh religious affairs.
Bittu claimed that major business, commercial and educational establishments in the city remained closed in response to the bandh call. He thanked the residents of Amritsar for their cooperation and solidarity with the victims of the 1984 riots, describing the participation as entirely voluntary.
Meanwhile, Harmeet Singh Kalka, president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, while addressing a gathering at Gurdwara Gurdarshan Prakash in Mehta Chowk, called for unity among Sikh organisations to secure the release of Bandi Singhs. He said all Sikh bodies and congregations should come together, whether through protests or legal means, to pursue the cause.
Kalka said that if the SGPC launches any major initiative for the release of Bandi Singhs, the DSGMC would fully support it. He also expressed concern over alleged large-scale religious conversion activities in Punjab.
He appealed to the Damdami Taksal, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee and other Panthic organisations to formulate a joint and effective strategy for the propagation of Sikhism.
