Bathinda, August 22: Sant Samaj leader and member of the ad hoc Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC), Baba Baljit Singh Daduwal, was arrested along with eight of his supporters from Gurdwara Jandalisar in Kotshamir village late last night.
His followers claimed that the police had seized three gurdwara vehicles, including an imported SU, and two revolvers.
The police said they had seized nine arms, including two revolvers, seven guns and more than 200 cartridges. Baba Baljit Singh and his two supporters, identified as Harjinder Singh and Randhir Singh, were produced in the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM), Faridkot, this evening.
They were sent to police custody for a day. A large number of Baba followers from nearby villages had assembled at the court.
While the police claimed that Baba Daduwal and his two supporters, Harjinder Singh and Randhir Singh, were arrested near Jaitu town, the Baba alleged that a heavy police force swooped down on Gurdwara Jandalisar last midnight and arrested them.
A week ago, the Faridkot police had procured the arrest warrants of Baba Daduwal in a five-year-old attempt to murder case.
The Baba had played a key role in the HSGMC taking control of the Guhla Cheeka gurdwara in Haryana recently.
The Baba’s tirade against Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda followers had led to clashes in Punjab in 2009. Booked for attempt to murder, he was later given a clean chit.
Today, more than 50 police commandos surrounded Gurdwara Jandalisar. While no outsider was allowed in, Amrik Singh, SGPC member from Kotshamir village, and at least 12 others were seen inside the gurdwara complex. Harcharan Kotfatta, brother of Bathinda (Rural) legislator Darshan Kotfatta, was among those seen inside the gurdwara.
“We have not taken over the gurdwara but have begun sewa in the absence of the granthi (priest),” claimed Amrik Singh.
Uggar Singh and Mahinder Singh, both brothers, said: “Nobody has the right to take control of the gurdwara as our family is the actual owner of the land on which the gurdwara stands. Our family had donated land for the gurdwara.”
Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gurpreet Bhullar said: “The Baba has been arrested in connection with a case registered against him in Faridkot.” (Inputs by Balwant Garg, Gurdeep Singh Mann and Sukhmeet Bhasin)