Akal Takht Jathedar tells Punjab govt. to free all Amritpal aids in 24 Hrs

AMRITSAR: The Akal Takht Jathedar on Monday presided over a meeting of Sikh organizations that decided on taking out a ‘Khalsa Vahir’ or religious march across Punjab to expose what they called the government’s machinations if the arrested Amritpal sides weren’t freed within 24 hours.
Amritpal was to start the second leg of his ‘Khalsa Wahir’ from March 19.
The warning could set the course for a collision with authorities as two women – Baljit Kaur and Balbir Kaur – arrested in Shahabad Markanda and Patiala for allegedly harboring Amritpal and his associate were remanded in judicial custody by a court Monday, while six others picked up for helping the duo escape were sent to police custody for another day.
“The jathedar has invited families and children who have been arrested in unnecessary cases to contact the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. Our lawyers will contest their cases and SGPC will pay the fees of attorneys already hired by the families,” SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said. . Also, the Sikh unions will approach the high court to challenge the police charging the arrested men with NSA.
The meeting followed the jathedar asking Amritpal on Saturday to surrender and face the law. It accused the governments at the Center and in Punjab as well as a few media houses of playing a part in the “conspiracy” to spread hatred against Sikhs. The meeting saw some men shouting pro-Khalistan and pro-Amritpal slogans, and also against some media houses.
The jathedar has directed SGPC to take legal action against “forces bent on defaming Sikhs in India and abroad and we have already set up a panel of lawyers for this”, Dhami said. Several delegates criticized Amritpal for not heeding the jathedar’s advice to surrender. “If he had listened to the jathedar, he would have emerged as a prominent religious leader,” said a delegate who did not wish to be identified.