Khalistani Flags Found Draped on Gates and Walls of Himachal Pradesh Winter Assembly Building
NEW DELHI, May 8: A few ‘Khalistani’ flags were found draped over the main gate and boundary wall of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly building in Dharamshala in Kangra district on Sunday morning. Pro-Khalistan graffiti was also painted on the walls.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur has ordered an investigation into the incident. The state police said they suspect the involvement of tourists from Punjab.
As a common practice, the winter session of the Assembly is held at Dharamshala, while the other sessions are held at the Assembly in Shimla. Currently, the Assembly was not in session.
The Chief Minister said the incident took place during Saturday night. He said the incident would be probed quickly and strict action would be taken against those who were involved. “I condemn the cowardly incident of raising ‘Khalistan’ flags at the gate of Dharamshala Assembly Complex in the night,” said Thakur in a tweet.
He said “As there is only winter session held in this (Dharamshala) Assembly, hence the need for added security arrangements is required during that time. Taking advantage of this, this cowardly incident has been carried out, but we will not tolerate it.” “This incident will be investigated quickly and strict action will be taken against the culprits. I would like to tell those people that if you have the courage, then come out in the light of day, not in the night,” he added.
Thakur said the state government would review the security along the borders with neighbouring states — Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, and Punjab. Himachal Pradesh attracts tourists from across India.
“It might have happened late at night or early morning today,” Khushal Sharma, the police chief of Kangra region, said. “We have removed the Khalistan flags from the Vidhan Sabha gate. It could be an act of some tourists from Punjab. We are going to register a case today,” Sharma said.
An intelligence alert issued on April 26 had warned of such an incident, sources said. The alert claimed that the chief of Sikhs for Justice, Gurupatwant Singh Pannu, had issued a letter to the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister stating that a flag of Bhindranwale and Khalistan would be hoisted in Shimla, sources said.
Himachal Pradesh had banned vehicles carrying Bhindranwale and Khalistani flags, which agitated the SFJ. The organisation had announced that it would hoist the Khalistani flag on March 29 but could not do so due to heavy security.
(Manas Dasgupta)
