A group of Nihangs, armed with spears and swords, stormed a gurdwara in Rudraprayag on Saturday evening and took a Sikh devotee hostage on the roof of the shrine. The Nihangs are demanding the release of four members of their sect who were arrested following a clash in Chamoli on June 16. The standoff, which began on Saturday evening, continued for over 24 hours, with a heavy police force deployed at the scene.
The district administration stated on Sunday evening that the situation is fully under control and peaceful. Police sources indicated that the six Nihangs who are holed up on the rooftop of the gurdwara have agreed to release the hostage after negotiations with authorities. However, a statement issued by the District Magistrate made no mention of an agreement with the Nihangs.
The Rudraprayag district magistrate and the superintendent of police visited the site to persuade the Nihangs to come down. The Garhwal Commissioner and senior officials from Rudraprayag district also arrived in Rudraprayag to handle the situation. According to people responsible for managing the gurdwara, the Nihangs had asked for 50-60 rooms to be arranged to house protesters who would come for a demonstration against the arrest of four members of their sect.
When the gurdwara failed to do so, the Nihangs resorted to violence, warning the authorities against any forceful action against them. The Nihangs engaged in vandalism, then took the elderly Sikh devotee who was at the gurdwara to the rooftop and started raising slogans. They are armed with spears, swords, axes, and kirpans.
The dispute began after four Nihang devotees were arrested in connection with a clash that stemmed from an altercation over parking near a hotel in Karnaprayag market. The pilgrims allegedly attacked the other group with swords, injuring four locals. A Nihang pilgrim was also injured in the clash.
The Uttarakhand government has ordered an inquiry into the recent dispute in Karnaprayag, Chamoli district. District Magistrate Mishra appealed to the public to not pay heed to any rumors regarding the matter. He stated that the Hemkund Sahib pilgrimage is continuing smoothly and activities such as ‘ardas’, ‘langar’ are going on as normal at the gurdwara, and movement of pilgrims also continues.
