Over 150 Nihangs camping at Himachal Pradesh's Paonta Sahib gurdwara, say won't leave until arrested members released

SHIMLA: Over 150 Nihang Sikhs are campingat Paonta Sahib Gurdwara in Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district, demanding the release of four members of their sect who were arrested in Uttarakhand following a violent clash with local residents, according to news agency PTI.Leaders of the Nihang groups held a meeting to decide their next steps and announced that they would not return to Punjab until the four arrested members are freed. They have given the Uttarakhand administration two days to respond to their demands.The decision came after a tense situation at the Himachal Pradesh-Uttarakhand border, where a Nihang jatha attempted to enter Uttarakhand through Dehradun on Thursday.

Police had deployed heavy security to stop the group, leading to a confrontation in which the Nihangs pushed through barricades.The standoff ended on Friday after discussions between the Nihang leaders and the administration. Jagdeep Singh Akali, who is leading the group, said the authorities had sought two days to address their demands. He added that the planned protest march into Uttarakhand has been put on hold for now but warned that the agitation would resume if the arrested Nihangs are not released.

The four Nihangs were arrested after a clash in Karnaprayag market in Chamoli district on June 16. The dispute between local residents and the Nihang group turned violent, leaving several locals and one Nihang injured. Police later registered a case and took four members of the sect into custody.Following the clash with police at the border, the Nihang group was escorted back by security personnel and shifted to Paonta Sahib Gurdwara, located a short distance from the interstate border.Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Pramendra Dobal said that while a few individuals and vehicles had crossed the checkpoint during the protest, they agreed to return after talks with the authorities.In a separate incident linked to the same issue, around six Nihangs occupied the roof of Nagarasu Gurdwara on the Badrinath Highway on June 20. They reportedly held an elderly man hostage while demanding the release of the arrested Nihangs. The situation was peacefully resolved on June 23 after negotiations involving the local administration, the gurdwara management, and Nihang representatives from Punjab.