Sacha Sauda issue: Sant Samaj to court arrest

Fatehgarh Sahib, June 17 (UNI) The constituents of Sant Samaj, led by Baba Harnam Singh Khalsa and Baba Sarabjot Singh Bedi, today threatened to court arrest if the police did not arrest Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh by tomorrow--the deadline fixed by Sikh organisations in the state.

Damdami Taksal chief Baba Harnam Singh Khalsa said the decision was taken in a meeting organised at Gurdwara Karamsar Rara Sahib.

He said a five-member committee had been constituted to implement the move to court arrest in a phased manner.

The move was considered significant in view of tomorrow's deadline given by radical Sikh organisations of the state for the arrest of Dera chief for his alleged blasphemous act of imitating tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.

Baba Harnam Singh Khalsa said that all the constituents of the Sant Samaj were unanimous about launching a ''peaceful action plan'' to impress upon the respective governments to ensure that the religious sentiments of Sikhs, hurt by the blasphemous act, were taken care of.

''Keeping in view the significance of communal harmony in the state, we have decided to start court arrest in a phased manner from June 19, in case the police fails to arrest the Dera chief by June 18. But our action plan will be purely religious and no individual or organisation will be allowed to harness political mileage out of our protest,'' he added.

Mr Khalsa said activists and office-bearers of various radical Sikh religious organisations, who have gone abroad or to other states, had been asked to return to their native places so that the chain of arrests was maintained till the Baba was arrested.

Sant Daya Singh, Baba Makhan Singh Tarna Dal, Baba Hari Singh Randhawa, Baba Paramjit Singh Mahalpur and Baba Haranam Singh Khalsa have been inducted in the committee to draft the programme of courting arrests.

Mr Khalsa said the first 'jatha' of religious leaders would leave Fatehgarh Sahib to court arrest at Civil Secretariat at Chandigarh on Tuesday.

UNI