Sikh pilgrims to visit Pak on Oct 28, to participate in centenary event
Darpan News Desk IANS, 27 Sep, 2022 11:45 AM
New Delhi, Sep 27 (IANS) A group of 240 Sikh pilgrims will visit Pakistan on October 28 to participate in the 'Saka Panja Sahib' centenary event.
The event will be organized at the Gurdwara Panja Sahib located in Hasan Abdal, some 45 km away from Rawalpindi.
Harmeet Singh Kalka, President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), on Tuesday said that the pilgrims will reach Pakistan from the Attari-Wagah border checkpoint on October 28 and will return to Amritsar on November 2.
They will also visit other historic Sikh shrines in Pakistan, including Gurdwara Panja Sahib and Nankana Sahib, as well as Lahore.
Of the 240 pilgrims, 40 are being sent by the DSGMC, Kalka added.
Saka Panja Sahib, the heroic event which took place at Hasan Abdal railway station, close to the sacred shrine of Pahja Sahib October 30, 1922, when Sikh masses wanted to provide Langar (community meals) to Sikh prisoners.
But, they were arrested for peaceful protests in Amritsar and were being sent by special trains to distant jails. Around 200 Sikhs stopped a train forcefully carrying Sikh prisoners to offer them food as authorities refused to halt the train at the station.
Some of them attained martyrdom in the incident as they lay on the track to stop the train. They were hailed as martyrs and, until the partition of 1947, a three-day religious fair used to be held in their memory at Pahja Sahib from October 30 to November 1 every year.
Kalka said that all pilgrims should be vaccinated with two doses against Covid-19 and must undergo a test 72 hours before leaving for Pakistan.
A negative RTPCR report is mandatory and a further RAT test will be conducted on arrival at the joint checkpost in Attari-Wagah border.
Accommodation for the visiting devotees will be arranged by the Pakistan government and staff of the Evacuee Trust Properties Board (ETPB) will issue room numbers in all gurdwaras.
The DSGMC will hold a special Covid-19 testing camp for the pilgrims at its office in Rakab Ganj Sahib, the dates of which will be disclosed shortly, Kalka added.
The official said in the first operation they found that the drugs were being supplied inside Delhi through a courier service. The police said that this information was developed and an MBA student was apprehended from Wazirabad. He told the police that a BBA pass student supplied him the drugs and he was also caught.
He said many apprehensions are being expressed that prominent leaders and big businessmen are involved in the crime. "All these doubts will be cleared if the CBI investigates." AAP national convenor Kejriwal was in his birthplace Hisar to launch party's nationwide campaign -- Make India No 1.
In a letter to Union Textile Minister Piyush Goyal, the Chief Minister has expressed the desire for setting up this ambitious project on the sacred land of Fatehgarh Sahib. He envisioned that once commissioned this project will emerge Punjab as a 'textile hub' of the country.
On April 18, the Supreme Court had cancelled the bail granted to Mishra and directed him to surrender within a week. A bench, headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana (retired now) and comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, asked the Allahabad High Court to examine afresh whether Mishra should be granted bail or not.
The Afghan nationals have been identified as Kabul resident Mustafa and Kandahar resident Rahimulla Rahim. Both the accused have refugee visas. The official said that they were caught on September 3 from Delhi's Kalindi Kunj area following a tip off that they were coming to Delhi by car. Following their interrogation the police conducted a raid at Noida and recovered more heroin and narcotics.
Judge B.K. Komala has given clear directions that accused seer should not be taken to anywhere during police custody, ruling out any possibility of shifting him to Bengaluru hospital. The police had sought 5 days' custody of the accused seer for investigation.
