NRI killed at Anandpur Sahib: Family meets SGPC members, demands martyr status, arrest of culprits

Pardeep had come from Canada to pay obeisance at Anandpur Sahib in Ropar, and succumbed to injuries that he sustained in a brawl at the entrance of the holy town Monday. The police so far have identified the other man involved in the brawl as one Satbir Singh, who is admitted in PGI, Chandigarh. A police team has been stationed at the hospital to arrest Satbir after he is discharged.

Pardeep’s uncle Gurdial Singh told The Indian Express on Thursday that they had met members of SGPC at Takht Shri Keshgarh Sahib in Shri Anandpur Sahib, where they had demanded that Pardeep be declared as a shaheed (martyr). As per details available, Pardeep came from a family of Army personnel, with his father, Gurbaksh Singh, an honorary captain in the Indian Army, due to retire in May this year. Gurdial himself retired as a havaldar from the Indian Army recently.

“The SGPC members have told us that they will look into our demands. We have also demanded that the SGPC and other Sikh organisations come forward and rein in the hooliganism during religious congregations,” Gurdial Singh said.

Speaking further, Gurdial Singh said that SGPC member Amarjeet Singh Chawla had assured them that guidelines would soon be formulated in order to stop such incidents from occurring in the future.

Baisakhi is also celebrated at Anandpur Sahib in April and is one of the biggest religious congregations in Punjab. Baisakhi is celebrated to commemorate the initiation of Khalsa Panth by tenth Sikh master Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 at Anandpur Sahib. Before that the SGPC could come up with guidelines against the hooliganism at religious places.

“The members (of SGPC) have also told us that the Bhog ceremony of Pardeep shall be held in Anandpur Sahib on March 16, we shall hold a separate bhog ceremony at our home on March 15,” Gurdial said adding that the family had met senior police officials of the district and demanded arrest of all the culprits.

“The police have told us that they are working on the case and will soon nab all culprits,” he said.

About Pardeep’s cremation, Gurdial said that the victim’s younger sister, who lives in Canada, had arrived on Wednesday. Gurdial’s two daughters, who also live in Canada, will arrive by March 12, following which the body will be cremated.

Ropar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vivek Sheel Soni said that they shall arrest all the culprits and their teams are already on the job.

Pardeep was training as tattoo artist

Pardeep Singh’s uncle Gurdial Singh told The Indian Express that Pardeep had gone to Canada in 2016 after completing Plus Two and was now the Permanent Resident (PR) of the country. Pardeep’s younger sister Kiranbir Kaur too is in Canada.

Gurdial Singh further said that Pardeep had come to India in September last year to attend his daughter’s wedding which was scheduled in October.

“After attending the marriage, Pardeep told me that he wanted to learn the art of tattoo making, for which he went to his maternal house in Khassan village in Kapurthala district. He would go to Jalandhar from Khassan to train as a tattoo artist,” Gurdial Singh added. Pardeep Singh was to leave for Canada in January but he delayed his departure for pilgrimage to Patna Sahib with his family in February.

He decided to visit Anandpur Sahib because of a Canada-based friend Gurdarshan Singh, who landed in India on February 18. The two then decided to visit Anandpur Sahib to celebrate Hola Mohalla this year.