Don’t step outside, Ludhiana police advise local Hindu leaders
In a video, Gopal Singh Chawla, a pro-Khalistan leader hidden in Pakistan had threatened to kill Hindu outfit leader Amit Arora and Congress leader Gursimran Singh Mand
Following threats from Gopal Singh Chawla, a pro-Khalistan leader hidden in Pakistan, Ludhiana police on Saturday restricted Hindu outfit leaders Amit Arora, Yogesh Bakhshi and national joint coordinator of All India Congress Committee (Kisan Congress) Gursimran Singh Mand from stepping out from their houses. The police have also increased vigil outside residences of various Hindu outfit leaders.
In a video, which was widely circulated on social networking sites, Chawla had threatened to kill Arora and Mand. The video was released after the murder of Hindu outfit leader Sudhir Suri.
Arora is already on terrorist groups’ target and had survived an attack in 2016. He tried to leave for Amritsar on Saturday to attend cremation of Suri, but joint commissioner of police (rural) Ravcharan Singh Brar, along with cops from Division Number 7 station, advised him against stepping outside due to security reasons.
Arora said he had also received threats from Hardeep Singh Nijjar of banned outfit Sikhs For Justice.
On February 3, 2016, a shot was fired on him near Samrala Chowk. The bullet had brushed past his neck and he survived. The police had arrested him for orchestrating an attack on himself for security cover, but those arrested for carrying out targeted killings in Punjab had confessed that they had attacked Arora. The police then cancelled the FIR registered against him. Mand, meanwhile, was also stopped from leaving for Amritsar.
Police commissioner Kaustubh Sharma said, “Due to security reasons, some of the leaders were advised to stay at home.”
After the killing of Suri, a high alert sounded in the state.
The police chief said that two more Hindu leaders -- Mukesh Khurana of Akhil Bhartiya Sanatan Dharam Raksha Akhara and Sandeep Verma of Shiv Sena Punjab -- have been provided a security cover. They are associates of Arora.
On Saturday, many Hindu leaders had gathered at the Clock Tower from where they were planning to move towards Amritsar. However, the police deterred them.
Rajiv Tandon, president of Shiv Sena Punjab, tried to leave Ludhiana but was stopped on the way to Amritsar. Varun Mehta and Rohit Sahni, however, managed to reach Amritsar.