Protesters block Bathinda-Amritsar highway in Faridkot on Wednesday. (Gurmeet Singh) Several Sikh organisations Wednesday blocked the Bathinda-Amritsar national highway in Faridkot seeking justice in the 2015 desecration cases and subsequent police firing incident. Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu also joined the protest.
National Highway-54 was blocked near Behbal Kalan village of Faridkot district, and the dharna continued till filing of this report.
The family of one of the victims of the police firing incident had given a call for blocking the highway for an indefinite period in protest against the
alleged delay in the delivery of justice.
Traffic moving towards Bathinda and Amritsar was diverted at many points, said a police official.
Former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu joined the protest and demanded a fast-track court for the delivery of justice in the cases.
Addressing the crowd, Sidhu said: “Law and order situation is out of control in the state while the Punjab CM is busy doing vote politics in Himachal Pradesh.
A fast-track court is needed for sacrilege incidents in which daily hearing is needed so as to provide justice to the victims and their families. I have been raising this issue..I even left the Cabinet seat in previous Congress government. I fought with former CM Capt Amarinder Singh over the issue ”
The incidents related to the theft of a ‘bir’ (copy) of the Guru Ganth Sahib, putting up handwritten sacrilegious posters and torn pages of the holy book found scattered at Bargari, took place in Faridkot in 2015.
In the police firing at those protesting against the desecration incidents, two people — Krishan Bhagwan Singh and Gurjit Singh — were killed. The incident had taken place in Faridkot’s Behbal Kalan.
Sukhraj Singh, the son of Krishan Bhagwan Singh, has been holding a protest for more than 100 days at Behbal Kalan to seek justice.
He said, “We are blocking the national highway for an indefinite period.”
Sidhu said AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal had said that action could be taken against the sacrilege incidents within 24 hours as he referred to the Delhi chief minister’s earlier statement.
(WITH PTI INPUTS)
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