Punjab Police Cancels Leaves of All Cops Ahead of Radical Sikh Preacher’s Call for Congregation

New Delhi (India), April 7, 2023: Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav has canceled the previously sanctioned leaves of all gazetted and non-gazetted officers in the state until April 14, after radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh called for a “Sarbat Khalsa” gathering in Bathinda on the occasion of Baisakhi.

Singh, who has been evading arrest, made the appeal for the congregation in two video messages last month, asking the chiefs of the top Sikh body, the Akal Takht, to convene the meeting.

The police’s move comes after Singh’s supporters overran a police station over the arrest of one of his aides. Only the Akal Takht chief can decide whether to call such a congregation after consulting with Sikh scholars and intellectuals, according to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the top gurdwara body. The last “Sarbat Khalsa” was held in 1986.

The police have instructed heads not to sanction any fresh leave until April 14, with sources suggesting that the move is aimed at preventing any untoward incidents during the congregation.

The SGPC’s general secretary, Gurcharan Singh Grewal, has said that the decision to call a congregation rests solely with the Akal Takht jathedar, who would take into account the prevailing circumstances.