The land housing Gurdwara Akal Bunga in Punjab’s Sultanpur Lodhi that is mired in violent possession row between two Nihang factions since Tuesday is a Waqf Board property, which is currently “leased” out to the Baba Balbir Singh faction, said a top government official. Punjab Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Gurinder Singh Dhillon told The Indian Express that “What I have verified from the deputy commissioner is that the land belongs to Waqf Board which had leased this out to a faction of Nihangs group (Baba Man Singh) and the lease was changed in favour of another group (Baba Balbir Singh) in 2019,” he said. Neither Baba Balbir Singh nor Baba Man Singh responded to the calls and texts. A Punjab Police home guard was killed, and several others were injured early on Thursday, after a group of Nihangs opened “unprovoked” fire at them inside the Sultanpur Lodhi gurudwara. Baba Balbir Singh proclaims himself to be the 14th chief of Budha Dal, a sect of Nihang Sikhs, and Baba Man Singh the 16th chief, owing to the succession war which broke out in 2007 after the demise of 13th chief Baba Santa Singh. A Nihang leader in Man Singh’s faction says after the demise of Baba Santa Singh, two others namely Baba Surjit Singh and Baba Prem Singh led the Dal, before Man Singh took over, making him the 16th chief of Budha Dal. Nihang leaders associated with Baba Balbir Singh, on the other hand, say that “religiously and legally”, Baba Balbir Singh was the “real heir” of Baba Santa Singh and hence was the “14th chief of Budha Dal”. This ongoing rift over the heirship of Budha Dal continues and has often turned violent. In 2020, after the Balbir Singh faction got possession of Gurdwara Akal Bunga, a clash erupted which eventually led to a murder. Baba Man Singh and his workers were booked in the murder case then. After Thursday’s deadly clash in Gurdwara Akal Bunga, the police have recovered a 12 bore pistol, a 315 bore rifle and another 32 bore firing weapon. A top police officer said it was probably a bullet fired from a 315 bore rifle that killed Punjab Home Guard constable Jaspal Singh. The bullet hit Jaspal on the head. “Forensic team is looking into aspects pertaining to the making of the weapon and the possible distance it was fired from. Exact details would be known after the forensic analysis,” he added. As per the police investigations, The Indian Express has learnt, two of the weapons were licensed in the name of Baba Man Singh faction Nihang Amana, whose full name is identified as Aman Singh, a resident of Ropar. “The third weapon is also likely to be a licensed one. The police probe is focusing on who actually fired using those weapons,” said the officer. This was because, the officer said, juveniles are among those booked in the Thursday clash, apart from another case of attempt to murder case registered on Tuesday (November 21) when the tension started building up over the possession of Gurdwara Bunga Sahib. According to ADGP Dhillon, the police submitted a kalandara (a document/application detailing the situation) before the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and seeking the imposition of section 145 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) after tension gripped as the two warring groups came face to face in the historical town of Sultanpur Lodhi. Sultanpur Lodhi is historically and religiously associated with Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev and is being decked up for his birth anniversary (gurpurab) celebrations. “Section 145 of CrPC is about preventive action wherever the police find there is no clarity regarding the possession and there is consistent dispute between two warring parties and there is apprehension of breach of peace. The SDM is the custodian of that application and is supposed to take action,” Dhillon told The Indian Express. He added that the administration was in process of appointing a receiver when the clash took place. “Ultimately, the better sense prevailed. Seven persons have been arrested in Thursday’s murder case. A receiver from district administration has been appointed,” said Dhillon on Friday. “After two-hour-long parleys with Baba Man Singh and his close associate yesterday which I was asked to spearhead along with Jalandhar deputy commissioner and Jalandhar DIG, Baba Man Singh faction left the place along with 40 to 50 horses and 50 to 60 Nihangs and a palki carrying Sri Guru Granth Sahib.” The officer said that despite having lost a constable, the police maintained restraint so as to not escalate the situation. “Baba Man Singh also said that an earning member of a family lost his life,” said Dhillon, adding that Baba Man Singh and his associates were told that “law will prevail and take its course to get the perpetrator punished”. The entourage of Nihangs affiliated to Baba Man Singh had reached Sultanpur Lodhi from its Dera in Haryana’s Kaithal, a few days before the clash. As per a police officer, they first took “forcible possession” of Gurdwara Akal Bunga before attempting to take control of “two adjacent properties”. “We will not let anyone take law in their hands…Baba Man Singh continues to be a proclaimed offender in the 2020 murder case during a clash at the same place. We lost our personnel, but still maintained restraint. They came with a plan to do all this nonsense when there were festivities, Palki Sahib (vehicle carrying Guru Granth Sahib), prayers and singing to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. Police were only doing their duty to uphold law and order,” Kapurthala Senior Superintendent of Police Vatsala Gupta told The Indian Express. She added that Baba Man Singh faction “did not have any stay order” regarding the property, as the faction was “falsely” claiming. ADGP Dhillon said that after the government receiver was appointed till the pendency to decide the possession row, “we had asked Baba Balbir Singh faction to maintain peace.” The investigations would be fair and without any vengeance, he added. Political connotations Opposition parties in Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Congress have hit out at ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over the Sultanpur Lodhi clash Thursday. SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal in a statement called for a mature handling of the incident by the government as the police acted on the direct orders of CM Mann that led to the bloodshed. He went on to add, “Bhagwant Mann has blood on his hands and must own administrative, political and moral responsibility for the bloodshed and for the death that happened there”. On Friday, Akali leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia also put the onus of clash on Mann, saying that the CM was handling the home portfolio and he was squarely responsible for “giving orders to the police to open fire”. Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa sought the resignation of the Punjab CM. “Enough is enough. If you cannot handle the state’s law and order, you have no right to remain in this position. Just leave and let someone else do the job,” he lashed out.
