Standoff at Nagrasu Gurdwara: Police Engage Nihangs Over Dispute

A standoff. That’s what was happening at Nagrasu Gurdwara in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district on Sunday. A group of Nihangs had essentially occupied part of the religious complex, making demands about four members from their sect who were arrested following a clash back in Chamoli earlier this month.

Things got heavy fast. The police moved in hard. Heavy force was deployed there immediately. Authorities have been talking to the group since Saturday evening, trying to figure things out on the ground.

But district officials are sticking to saying everything is under control. Religious activities at the gurdwara? They keep running. No disruption.

District Magistrate Vishal Mishra said there had been an internal dispute inside the complex. Law and order, he insisted, was being maintained.

He put it plainly: A dispute erupted between some Nihang Sikhs, the Gurdwara management, and the servants living there. The Ardaas, Langar, all the prayers they’re still running smoothly. People moving around? Fine. No one is facing any problems right now.

But then you have the rumors start flying. Don't pay attention to them. Don’t believe that the gurdwara has been taken over or someone is being held hostage. Don't think violence happened.

The management committee claims everything is peaceful. They are operating in a completely calm environment. No issues at all, they say.

Meanwhile, the police were actually talking things through with these Nihangs. Rudraprayag Superintendent of Police Niharika Tomar said that the police, district administration, and the gurdwara management committee were constantly engaging with them. Trying to understand what was bothering them. Looking for a way out.

Those talks did yield something. One of the Nihangs actually came down from the roof just to talk to the administration and the police. Dialogue is still going on with the others.

We know some specifics now, though. A statement released by the district administration mentioned that the Nihangs had locked up the upper floor leading to the terrace. An elderly Sikh man was allegedly being held there.

This all links back to earlier trouble. SP Tomar told IANS that police got word about this dispute way back on June 20th.

Yesterday, June 20th itself, at three forty pm, the control room in Rudraprayag got a notice. There was an argument happening inside the Nagrasu Gurdwara. It involved the service of the Gurudwara and some Nihang pilgrims who had come there. A dispute about something then escalated into shouting.

This whole messy situation? It connects to that bigger clash on June 16th in Karnaprayag market, Chamoli district. That’s where things started boiling over.

PTI reported that a group of Nihang pilgrims coming back from Sri Hemkund Sahib Gurdwara got into an argument with locals over parking near a hotel. Things flared up quickly. Four residents ended up getting hurt in the fight. One of the Nihangs also got injured, too.

Then four Nihangs from Mohali, Punjab, were arrested later on.

Those arrested men’s supporters then went to the Gurdwara management. They wanted support for a protest against what they felt was unfair action by the authorities regarding that Karnaprayag case.

The gurdwara management apparently asked for 50 to 60 rooms arranged for these expected supporters. When that request wasn't met, things got worse. Tensions escalated quickly then.

Baba Beant Singh of Gurdwara Nagrasu told ANI about the group arriving from Mohali. They stayed there first, but then the situation completely deteriorated.

He said they arrived the day before yesterday and started fighting immediately. Beatings, abuse against volunteers it all happened. But they let them stay overnight. Gave them food.

Then they started fighting again the next morning. Beant Singh recalls trying to reason with them, asking them to leave. When they were leaving, they saw the police outside. They thought they were being arrested for some nefarious activity. So they just went straight up to the fifth floor.

What happened next? They took over the place. Broke walls. Started throwing stones. At us the police, the people outside, the shopkeepers. Beant Singh said they covered this whole thing with drones.

And then the real accusations came out. They refused food. Feared it might be poisoned. Cut off the water supply. Damaged the solar panels on the building. Caused losses amounting to lakhs of rupees. Water cut off. Solar panels destroyed. Vandalism all night long. Massive financial damage, he said.

The district administration reacted quickly too. They made a big security deployment as a precaution. Thirty to forty police personnel and over two dozen ITBP jawans were stationed outside the gurdwara. Senior officials kept watching everything closely.