On July 8, Mohali Police arrested Damdami Taksal Jatha Rajpura chief and Kathavachak Barjinder Singh Parwana. As per reports, Barjinder had gone to Mohali for some work where Balongi Police had apprehended him. Later, Mohali Police raided his house in Rajpura and searched the place for hours. Reportedly, he was arrested based on the complaint by Shiv Sena leader Sudhir Suri who was also arrested by Punjab Police for hurting religious sentiments on July 6.
Chardikla Time TV quoted SHO of Balongi Police station saying, “We cannot provide any information in the case. The case was registered in this police station, and his vehicle has been parked here, but Barjinder is not here.” Later, he was produced in Kharar Court and sent to Police custody for five days. He has been booked under Sections 153, 505, and 120 of the Indian Penal Code.
Akali Dal’s Manjinder Sirsa came to Barjinder’s rescue
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa has come out to Barjinder Singh Parwana’s support. In a video statement, he said, “Barjinder Singh Parwana was arrested by Punjab Police on July 8 based on the complaint of [Sudhir] Suri. His wife informed me yesterday that Punjab Police is trying to frame Parwana under UAPA [Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act]. The Police are trying to prove that Parwana is getting foreign funding from terrorist organizations. They are creating false cases against him.”
We stand in solidarity with Barjinder Singh Parwana who is arrested by @PunjabPoliceInd
— Manjinder Singh Sirsa (@mssirsa) July 13, 2021
This is nothing but @INCPunjab Govt’s ploy to defame Sikhs and present them as anti-nationals. We condemn this in strong words. We support Parwana Ji; DSGMC would fight against Punjab Police pic.twitter.com/nJXRihv2K7
He further said, “I urge Captain Amarinder Singh not to do anything in such manner. Sikhs are already defamed across the world. Congress has been finding ways to defame Sikhs and prove that the Sikh community is full of terrorists. But being a Sikh Chief Minister, it is your duty not to let anything like this happen. Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Committee is standing with Barjinder Singh Parwana and his family. We are providing legal assistance to him. We will make sure Punjab Police cannot use force while he is in custody. We are working on getting him bail. I am thankful to Ghuman brothers [Advocates] who are fighting the case.”
Who is Barjinder Singh Parwana
Chief of Damdami Taksal Jatha Rajpura, Kathavachak Barjinder Singh Parwana, is one of the prominent Sikh religious leaders in Punjab. He is known for his firebrand image and often publishes videos and statements favouring Sikh militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Recently, Parwana made headlines when he released a statement supporting Daljit Singh Kashmir and others who are accused of lunching of Army Man in a Gurudwara in Gurdaspur.
It has to be noted that Parwana has a history of promoting Sikh militants on his social media profiles. In a few photographs and videos where he is wearing a half-sleeve shirt, a tattoo of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale could be seen on his arm. On June 5, he also released a song titled Bhindranwala (The Warrior) under the Punjabi Records label. It is one of the hundreds of songs that have been released praising Bhindranwale in recent times.
