MEERUT: A group of Sikhs who manage 35 gurdwaras in Meerut presented a memorandum to DIG Satyanarayan in Meerut on Monday, condemning Saturday’s violence in Saharanpur, which left three dead and over 15 injured. The Sikhs sought that such incidents do not happen again. In a five-point memorandum, the group said a committee must be constituted that would be well acquainted with religious disputes, and could intervene in time to prevent such friction from flaring into all-out violence. The Sikhs of Meerut sought that the administration step in to offer security to the community, and also repair the damage to the gurdwara in Saharanpur. The memorandum sought that the relatives of the dead be provided a government job as compensation. Also, those who have lost their shops in the violence should be suitably compensated, the memorandum said. The group has also warned that false cases should not be slapped on innocent Sikhs. The DIG assured the Sikhs that the community would get full cooperation from the administration. No untoward incident of that nature would happen in Meerut, the DIG said. Manjeet Singh Kochhar, vice-president of the Gurudwara Siri Guru Singh Sabha, told TOI, “We will do a thorough examination of the incident in Saharnapur to arrive at a conclusion about who stood to benefit from such clashes. We certainly do not want confrontation. But if we are instigated, we will be compelled to defend ourselves.” BJP leaders Satyaprakash Agarwal, MLA from Meerut Cantt and Harikant Ahluwalia, city mayor, also reached the spot to show solidarity with the Sikhs. “It was always Hindu-Muslim clashes… dragging Sikhs into the controversy is unfortunate. The SP government has lost the right to govern the state”, Satyaprakash Agarwal said. Amarjeet Singh Ahluwalia, secretary, Rashtriya Singh Sangat, Meerut Mahanagar, said, “The HC had passed the verdict in favour of the gurudwara in Saharanpur. Only after that verdict had the Sikh community begun building the boundary wall there. The Muslim community, by resorting to violence, tried to show that it was above the law. Sadly, the administration sided with the wrong-doers.”

