Punjab shuts down for ’84 anti-Sikh riots victims

Life in Punjab was paralysed on Tuesday as a state-wide bandh was observed to protest against “denial of justice to the families of thousands of people killed in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots”. The bandh was called by radical Sikh organisations such as Dal Khalsa,
Khalsa Action Committee (KAC) and Damdami Taksal.

More than a dozen long-distance trains were cancelled. Shops, commercial establishments and education institutions in most parts of the state were closed. Work in government offices was affected due to a skeletal staff. “Sikhs have been denied justice for the past 25 years. We want the deaf government in the Centre to listen to our demands,” Dal Khalsa leader Kanwarpal Singh said.

Dal Khalsa activists stopped trains at Amritsar railway station. Amritsar-New Delhi Shatabdi Express, Sachkhand Express, Dadar Express, Super fast Express and other trains were stopped by Dal Khalsa activists. Scores of Dal Khalsa members squatted on tracks.

Amritsar Police detained about 50 Sikh youths near Hall Gate for moving around the city on motorcycles and brandishing kirpans (swords). Their kirpans were confiscated. Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal thanked the people for a peaceful bandh. He said the bandh demonstrated the people’s anger towards the  Centre for denying justice to the victims of the 1984 Sikh carnage.