Uttarakhand: Four arrested Nihang Sikhs in Karnprayag clash case released

Dehradun/Gopeshwar, June 27 (PTI): A court in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Saturday granted bail to four Nihang Sikhs arrested in connection with the recent Karnaprayag incident, officials sai.

Uttarakhand: Four arrested Nihang Sikhs in Karnprayag clash case released

Dehradun/Gopeshwar, June 27 (PTI): A court in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Saturday granted bail to four Nihang Sikhs arrested in connection with the recent Karnaprayag incident, officials said.

It is believed that the release of the Nihang Sikhs on bail will reduce the tension arising from the Karnaprayag incident on June 16, they said.

According to official sources, Chamoli District and Sessions Judge Vindhyachal Singh accepted the bail applications of the four accused, Satwinder Singh, Ajay Singh, Jaspreet Singh and Manpreet Singh.

The court ordered the release of each accused on bail upon furnishing a personal bond of ₹50,000 and two sureties of the same amount.

Advocate Mohan Chandra Pant, Deputy Legal Aid Defence Counsel of the Chamoli District Legal Aid Authority, representing the accused, said that, according to the court order, a bail bond was submitted and the release order was sent to the Chamoli District Jail.

Subsequently, all the accused were released, he said, adding that the four accused, along with about a dozen companions from Punjab, boarded a car and departed for their destination.

On June 16, a minor dispute between local residents and Nihang Sikhs in Karnaprayag escalated into an alleged sword attack, leaving a few people injured. A Nihang Sikh was also injured in the incident. Later, the police registered a case and arrested the four Nihang Sikhs.

The counsel said that the group was on a religious pilgrimage when many local residents assaulted them, seriously injuring one of the accused, Manpreet Singh.

The prosecution opposed the bail plea, arguing that the allegations were serious and that their release could lead to tampering with evidence. The prosecution said an argument escalated following a road accident and police subsequently modified the charges during the ongoing investigation.

The Nihangs' arrest had earlier led to a standoff at the Nagrasu gurdwara in the Rudraprayag district. The standoff ended on June 23 after three days, following the intervention of a Sikh delegation.

Later, on the night of June 25, a group of Nihang Sikhs forcibly entered Uttarakhand through the Kulhal border in the Dehradun district, which adjoins Himachal Pradesh, demanding the release of the arrested men. During the hearing, the defence counsel argued that the accused was falsely implicated. PTI DHM AKY COR DPT PRK SHS SHS

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