The ‘bhog’ ceremony of Jaspal Singh (18), who was killed in police firing on March 29, passed off peacefully at his native village Chorh Sidhwan, 7 km from here, on Saturday. Gurdaspur was converted into a virtual police cantonment due to elaborate security arrangements made by the administration in and around the town, with shops opening during the day.
As a precautionary measure, all local private schools observed a holiday on Saturday. Representatives of Sikh ‘sangats’ from as far as France, England and Canada offered money in lakhs to the families of deceased Jaspal Singh as well as Ranjit Singh, a resident of Pandher village near Gurdaspur who is under treatment at government hospital in Amritsar.
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has already announced a job for Jaspal’s sister Kanwaljeet Kaur, who is a student of engineering at local Sukhjindra College of Engineering and Technology, on completion of her education.
The SGPC also gave Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh to the families of Jaspal and Ranjit, respectively, during the ‘bhog’ ceremony. Addressing the gathering, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh declared Jaspal a ‘Sikh martyr’ and paid rich tributes to him on behalf of Sikh leaders who had assembled there.
Thanking Sikh organisations for their whole-hearted support, he also appealed to the Sikhs to maintain peace in the world.
New Source: H TImes
