Sant Samaj serves ultimatum to government on Sacha Sauda

Ludhiana, June 2 (UNI) The 'Sant Samaj', a conglomeration of various Sikh social and religious organisations today served an ultimatum on the Union and Punjab governemts to arrest Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Raheem Singh by June 18 for his alleged blasphemous imitation of Guru Gobind Singh.

" If the Dera chief is not arrested by June 18, then leaders of various Sikh religious groups will stage a 'dharna' outside Punjab Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh and court arrest thefollowing day", a resolution passed at the meeting of the 'Sant Samaj' here said.

Later talking to mediapersons, Damdami Taksal chief Harnam Singh Khalsa said that the protest at Raj Bhawan would be a peaceful one.

Denying that their protest was against the directions of the Akal Takht, the Taksal chief pointed out that it was the highest temporal seat of Sikhism that had given a call to launch an agitation to 'uproot' the Sacha Sauda sect." Moreover our protest will be a peaceful one as desired by the Akal Takht", he maintained.

Through another resolution the 'Sant Samaj' demanded that the pending criminal cases against the Dera chief being investigated by the CBI should be expeditaded.

The 'Sant Samaj' which consists of certain radical Sikh groups including the Damdami Taksal had not been too happy with the 'soft' tone used by the Akal Takht while rejecting the apology offered by the Sacha Sauda on May 29. They had not taken part in the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandik Committee (SGPC) led protest march at Fatehgarh Sahib on May 31.

Meanwhile the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) has also called for the immediate arrest of Ram Raheem and closure of all 'deras' of the sect. A seprate meeting of the party was held here today.

UNI