Ram Rahim issue: SAD chief to visit Mumbai

Chandigarh, Jun 23 (UNI) A high-level Sikh delegation, led by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, will rush to Mumbai tomorrow in the wake of the killing of a Sikh protester by the security guard of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh there last week.

The decision was taken in an emergency meeting of the Core Commitee of the SAD here today which was presided over by party patron and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

The SAD has appealed to all the countrymen, including the Sikhs, to maintain an ''atmosphere of peace, communal harmony and amity at all costs as preached by the Sikh Gurus.'' The delegation to Mumbai would meet the members of the family of Balkar Singh, who was killed in the firing by the Dera chief's security gaurd in Mumbai on Friday, Chief Minister's Media Adviser Harcharan Bains told reporters after the meeting.

The delegation would also call on Maharastra Chief Minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh to urge him to take ''strictest possible'' action against those responsible for the incident.

It would also impress upon Mr Deshmukh to take immediate administrative measures to safeguard the life and property of the minority Sikh community there, he said.

The delegation would also meet the injured in the unfortunate incident and their family members, Mr Bains added.

The delegation would comprise of senior SAD leaders, including Charanjit Singh Atwal, Sewa Singh Sekhwan, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Avtar Singh Hit, Manjit Singh, Greater Kailash, Onkar Singh Thapar and Daljeet Singh Cheema.

UNI MA SKB AS1721