In Amritsar, protesters dump black flags at jathedar’s door

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Police personnel also ran to stop them but failed. The protesters gathered outside the jathedar’s residence and began raising slogans against him. They also began knocking at his door.

The residence is at the main entrance of the Akal Takht. Security had been tightened here in the last week of September after the five high-priests had pardoned Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim in the 2007 blasphemy case.

Two days ago, the Amritsar police had foiled a protest march of Sikh bodies towards the Akal Takht but they were caught unawares on Tuesday.

The protest finally fizzled out after some in the crowd intervened and urged the rest to calm down and move towards the Akal Takht. Before leaving, however, they dumped their black flags at the jathedar’s door. The protesters later concluded their march at the Akal Takht.

“We had started our march peacefully from New Amritsar locality at 10:30 am. Police stopped us at many points and it took us six hours to reach the Akal Takht. There is huge anger among Sikhs against the high priest Gaini Gurbachan Singh. He is not our jathedar as the Panj Pyaras have suspended him,” said Kanwaljit Singh, one of those leading the protesters.