Police on toes for Ashutosh Maharaj’s congregation

SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill said,“The role of the police is to provide security and maintain law and order,and that is what we are aiming at. We will be providing extra security cover for this function to ensure that there is no untoward incident. Extra police force has been called in to see that law and order is maintained.”

When asked about any indication of disruption at this function,the SSP added,“As such there are no reports,but then this is a fact that Ashutosh Maharaj,along with the other dera heads,is on the list of Sikh radicals.”

The Sansthan,established by Ashutosh Maharaj in 1983 in Noormahal near Jalandhar,has been in the thick of controversy in the past. A complaint regarding the Sansthan being anti-Sikh was made to the Akal Takht during the regime of former jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti..

Followers of the Sansthan have had several run-ins with Sikh groups,like a major one in Malout when some Sikhs objected to the ‘samagams’ or meetings held by the Sansthan.