Protesting Sikhs paralyse rail service in Punjab

CHANDIGARH: Train services in Punjab were on Wednesday suspended following blocking of tracks at several places by Sikhs demanding arrest of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh in the wake of the Mumbai firing incident.
    
The Sikh protesters squatted on the track at several places, including Amritsar, Sirhind, Malout, Abohar, Sangrur and Rajpura in Punjab to protest against the killing of a community member allegedly by a body guard of the Dera chief in Mumbai last week.
    
The 'rail roko' call given by Damdami Taksal, SAD (Amritsar) and certain radical Sikh organisations asked the protesters to remain peaceful.
    
"At least eight super-fast and five passenger trains have been cancelled for the day. Several other trains were being terminated short of their destination in order to ensure the safety of the passengers and rail property," Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala H K Jaggi said.
    
Around 400 Sikhs led by Damdami Taksal chief Baba Harnam Singh, Chief of SAD (Amritsar Presidium) Daljit Singh Bittu and President of Sikh Students Federation (Mehta faction) Paramjit Singh Khalsa were staging a sit-in on the tracks at Madhopur village near Sirhind. The rail line connects Delhi with Amritsar and Jammu.
    
Punjab Police sources said here that though the movement of trains had come to a halt, the situation was peaceful.