Sikh man's turban 'removed' in WB march: Delhi delegation to meet Governor
Oct 11, 2020
New Delhi [India], October 11 : Three days after a Sikh man's turban was allegedly removed by the West Bengal Police during the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha's "Nabanno Cholo" protest, a Sikh delegation from Delhi went to Kolkata on Sunday to meet Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, demanding justice for the man.
Manjinder Singh Sirsa, President of Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, who led the delegation, said Sardar Balwinder Singh, whose turban was allegedly removed by the police, is retired paramilitary force personnel.
"He went to fight in Jammu and Kashmir for this country. What happened to him is a very serious matter. We have already appealed to the government and police to free him but he is still in jail," he said, adding the policeman involved should be charged with Section 295. "Instead of taking action against the guilty police personnel, they arrested Balwinder Singh," Sirsa told ANI.
He added they would visit Singh in jail after meeting the governor. "We will fight until he gets justice."
Singh, however, said that he wanted to be clear that they were not against the Mamata Banerjee-led state government.
"Mamata ji, we are not against you. We are against the system. Please release Balwinder Singh and take action against the people who did this (took of a sardar's turban)," he said.
Denying the charge, the police, meanwhile, contended that the man was rounded off because he was carrying firearms in the march, for which permission was not given.
"The concerned person was carrying firearms in yesterday's (Thursday) protest. The Pagri (turban) had fallen off automatically in the scuffle that ensued, without any attempt to do so by our officer (visible in the video attached). It is never our intention to hurt the sentiments of any community," West Bengal Police had tweeted on a day after the incident.
The police said that the officer had specifically asked him to put his pagri back before the arrest.
The Home Department has accused "a political party" of "blowing the incident out of proportion" and "giving communal colour" to it.
