Breaking News: Sikhs Clash With Dera Sucha Sauda Followers In Punjab, 12 Injured

[sunny_love_kirtan]

LAST DAY OF ULTIMATUM

SPECIAL COVERAGE WHOLE DAY FROM PUNJAB BY IBN CHANNEL

ALSO TODAY IS BHOG OF SHAHEED BHAI KAMALJEET SINGH JI.

BUT MEIDA SAYS THAT THE FAMILY MEMBERS OF BHAI SAHIB ARE NOT PRESENT IN THE BHOG, COZ THEY HAVE BHOG ALSO AT THEIR HOME.

AND THE OTHER BHOG IS AT SANGROR GURDWEARA SAHIB WHERE ALL PANTHIC DALS ARE COMING.

WATCH IBN LIVE

http://livetvonline.blogspot.com/2006/12/i...annel-from.html

[SaRpAnCh]

Clashes expected,All Deras have military protection

[SaRpAnCh]

[lsingh]

Times of India

Security blanket over Punjab as Dera deadline ends

27 May, 2007 l 1421 hrs ISTlIANS

CHANDIGARH: Nearly 100,000 Punjab Police personnel and over 40 companies of paramilitary forces were in place in Punjab Sunday as the deadline set by the Akal Takht for the Dera Sacha Sauda sect to vacate its campuses in the state drew near.

The Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhism, had set the Sunday deadline for the dera, protesting the actions of sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, whose actions they say have hurt the religious sentiments of Sikhs.

The sect leader had last week attired himself like the 10th Sikh guru Gobind Singh, offending many Sikhs and resulting in large-scale violence in Punjab.

Though the state remained tense, there seemed to be no sign of the sect issuing a public apology for the alleged blasphemous act, despite mounting pressure.

There were no indications of the Dera vacating any of its campuses either.

The Sikh clergy will meet again under the aegis of Akal Takht May 31 to decide their future course of action against the Dera.

Hardline Sikh groups are demanding that the Dera chief be arrested for hurting their religious sensibilities.

Security forces were on high alert particularly in the cotton-rich Malwa belt of south Punjab and the Sikh holy city of Amritsar.

The sect campuses at Salabatpura, the biggest campus of the sect in Punjab located 30 km from Bathinda, Malout, Sangrur and Sunam were virtually fortified by the police and Border Security Force (BSF) to prevent any clashes.

Any recurrence of violence, like the one nearly a fortnight ago, is likely to put the Akali Dal government led Parkash Singh Badal in an embarrassing situation.

In Sangrur town, 160 km from here, a memorial service was held for Kanwaljit Singh, who was killed in a clash between sect followers and Sikhs at Sunam 10 days ago.

Sikh leaders have described him as a martyr of the community. But his father Bant Singh urged Sikhs not to politicise his son's death.

Peace efforts to resolve the religious row by social activist Swami Agnivesh have not yielded much result.

Agnivesh, who earlier led an all-religion delegation to the sect headquarters in Sirsa, 300 km from here in Haryana, said the Dera management was acting unreasonably and should come out with an offer to end the tensions.

He has urged the Sikh clergy to give him and two-three days more to sort out the issue.

[khalistan_zindabaad]

sooo basically in simple terms the sikh jathedars ent gonna do jack, theey keep on extending there deadlines, and will eventually give no result. i thought todaty was the final deadline for the deras? and i beleive they are still open. . .

[Harmindersingh]

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story...EWEN20070013432

The deadline today passed without any protest or decision

NDTV Correspondent

Sunday, May 27, 2007 (New Delhi)

The situation in Punjab remained peaceful on Sunday even as the stand-off between the Dera Sacha Sauda and the Sikhs entered a crucial day.

The Sikh clergy has given the Dera an ultimatum to vacate their ashrams in Punjab by today.

Statements from the Dera spokesperson in Sirsa and the Akal Takht jathedar have reflected their keenness for a peaceful resolution.

''We are ready for direct talks. We believe any dispute can be resolved through dialogue,'' said Dr Pawan, the Dera's Chief Spokesperson.

''We have always believed in peace. We have asked our people not to issue inflammatory statements''.

Taking no chances

There has been tight security across Punjab all day today.

The Dera in Salabatpura, the sect's biggest ashram in Punjab, has turned into a fortress with security being provided by Punjab Police and paramilitary forces.

The Salabatpura Dera is among those that had been attacked by Sikh supporters earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Dera leader Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim addressed thousands of followers as usual at the Dera today.

Memorial ceremony

Thousands of people from across Punjab today attended the bhog, or the memorial ceremony in Sangrur for the Sikh protestor who was killed in anti-Dera clashes on May 17.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Badal was present for the ceremony.

The victim's family has appealed to parties not to politicise the tragedy.

''My son was a religious man. He sacrificed his life for the Sikh community. It's very sad that such deaths are being politicized,'' said Bant Singh, the victim's father.

Heavy security arrangements have been made in Sangrur.

[singh_bling]

water bomb the baba

[Guest Hardeep_S_Khalsa]

Are akal Takht going to meet today and make a further decision?

[kh@ls@]

Are akal Takht going to meet today and make a further decision?

No they are meeting on the 31st of may to decide what to do next

[nanosecond]

JUST IN :- DERA APOLOGISES