Taking into account the sentiments of the Sikh community which had taken objection to the statues of folk dancers at the Heritage City in the vicinity of the holy Sri Darbar Sahib, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ordered the Cultural Affairs Department to shift and relocate the same to some other appropriate place in Amritsar.
The statues, installed during the previous SAD-BJP regime, had been vandalised by some angry protestors on January 15 in a fit of emotional outburst.
Taking a lenient view of the youngsters involved in the vandalism, the Chief Minister has also directed the DGP to review the cases registered against the seven accused protestors and withdraw the stringent sections of IPC registered against them.
“The actions of the youth were not malicious but a reflection of the pain felt by the Sikh community which felt hurt at the statues, displaying Bhangra and Giddha, being located close to the precincts of the holy Gurdwara Sahib,” said the Punjab CM.
The statues were vandalised by a group of youths on January 15 in a fit of emotional outburst.
Following this vandalism, the Akal Takht, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Shiromani Ragi Sabha (including Kirtanis of Golden Temple), Sri Guru Hargobind Sahib Shiromani Dhadi Sabha and Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar committees, had come out in the support of the accused arrested by police.
The Acting Jathedar of Akal Takht had already formed a three-member committee to pursue the relocation of statues to some other place in Amritsar.