More than 12 injured as two groups clash in Golden Temple in Amritsar
The 30th anniversary of Operation Bluestar was being observed at Golden Temple
Amritsar: A clash broke out during an event on the 30th anniversary of Operation Bluestar inside Golden temple premises here on Friday, leaving at least a dozen people injured.
The situation took an ugly when SAD (Amritsar) head Simranjeet Singh Mann along with his supporters allegedly forcibly tried to deliver a message from the rostrum of Akal Takht, Amritsar Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh told PTI.
Mann was prevented from delivering the speech following which a clash broke out between SAD (Amritsar) activists and guards of Shiromani Gurudwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC) task force, he said, adding that swords were used in the violence which left five members of SGPC task force injured.
Police personnel are not permitted inside the Golden temple premises where security and other issues are under the control of task force, Aulakh said.
However, he said that no one received serious injury in the clash. "The situation has been defused and things are under total control," he said.
Unconfirmed reports claim that at least 12 persons were injured, including two of them seriously.
The anniversary of Operation Bluestar was observed at Akal Takht at the marbled periphery of Harmandhar Sahib popularly known as Golden Temple.
The operation was carried out on June 6, 1984 to flush out Sikh extremists led by Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale from the Golden Temple. Bhindrawale and his associates were killed in the operation.
During the day, SAD (Amritsar) activists raised slogans. The trouble started when Akal Takht head Gurbachan Singh was addressing the gathering from Akal Takht and Mann tried to disrupt him from delivering the address.
During the melee, many panic-striken devotees ran for safety, sources said. Meanwhile, 1,500 personnel of anti-riot police were deployed in several places in Amritsar in the wake of a bandh call given by hardline outfit Dal Khalsa.