Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday appealed for calm amid the ongoing tension over the Karnaprayag clash. His intervention came as four Nihang Sikhs arrested in the case were granted bail.
Members of the Nihang sect, many of them from Punjab and Haryana, are staying at the Paonta Sahib Gurdwara in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district. They had earlier postponed their planned march to Uttarakhand by two days.
The protest march was halted after police stopped the group at the Himachal-Uttarakhand border. Following talks, the Uttarakhand administration assured them that their demands, including the release of the arrested Nihangs, would be addressed, Nihang leader Jagdeep Singh Akali said.
More Nihang members from Punjab and Haryana reached Paonta Sahib on Saturday to join the gathering.
After meeting a delegation of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (HSGPC), Chief Minister Saini sent his political secretary, Tarun Bhandari, to Paonta Sahib. Bhandari met Sikh religious groups and conveyed the government's efforts to resolve the matter peacefully.
Speaking to reporters after several hours of discussions, Bhandari said the Haryana chief minister has assured the Sikh community that every effort is being made to settle the issue quickly and peacefully.
He said an HSGPC delegation met Saini, who also spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami over the phone. Saini urged him to ensure an early and peaceful solution to the dispute.
Bhandari said he was then asked to visit Paonta Sahib along with the HSGPC delegation and inform the Sikh community about the steps being taken by both governments.
Calling it a minor dispute, Bhandari said such incidents sometimes happen but become bigger when people try to give them a political colour. He stressed that such matters should not be politicised.
He expressed hope that the concerns raised by the Nihangs would be resolved soon. He added that the Haryana government is in regular touch with the Uttarakhand government.
HSGPC General Secretary Angrej Singh said he had met Chief Minister Saini with a delegation to discuss the situation that developed after the Karnaprayag incident.
Sources at the Paonta Sahib Gurdwara said Nihang groups continued discussions on Saturday to decide their next course of action.
Jagdeep Singh Akali said on Friday that the Uttarakhand administration had sought two days to fulfil their demands. Therefore, the proposed march has been put on hold for now. However, he warned that the agitation would resume if the arrested Nihangs were not released.
The dispute began on June 16 in Karnaprayag in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district. A minor argument between local residents and Nihang Sikhs reportedly turned violent, with an alleged sword attack leaving several people injured. One Nihang Sikh was also hurt. Police later registered a case and arrested four Nihang Sikhs.
On Saturday, a district and sessions court in Chamoli granted bail to all four accused. District and Sessions Judge Bindhyachal Singh allowed the bail pleas of Satvinder Singh, Ajay Singh, Jasanpreet Singh and Manpreet Singh. The court ordered their release on a personal bond of ₹50,000 each along with two sureties of the same amount.
The four have been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act in a case registered at Karnaprayag police station.
During the hearing, the defence argued that the accused had been falsely implicated. The lawyer said they were on a religious pilgrimage when they were allegedly attacked by local residents, leaving Manpreet Singh seriously injured.
The prosecution opposed the bail plea, saying the charges were serious and that releasing the accused could affect the investigation or lead to tampering with evidence.
After hearing both sides, the court observed that the clash appeared to have resulted from a sudden road dispute rather than any previous rivalry.
Earlier, on June 20, around six Nihangs climbed onto the roof of Nagarasu Gurdwara on the Badrinath Highway and allegedly held an elderly man hostage. They demanded the release of those arrested in the Karnaprayag case.
The standoff ended on June 23 after talks between the local administration, the gurdwara management and Nihang representatives from Punjab. The shrine was then vacated peacefully.
Also read: Nihang group returns to Himachal after border standoff
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