A group of tourists from Punjab displayed flags featuring Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale's photo on their bikes in Himachal Pradesh's Manali. A row erupted after a man named Subhash, who is a resident of Manali, filed a complaint at the police station on March 14 after spotting two men carrying a flag of Bhindranwale's photo.
According to the complainer, men belong from Punjab and he asked to remove the flag, the bikers threatened to kill him, reported India Today. Later, locals in the area forced tourist bikers to remove the flag from the bike.
After video of the incident went viral on social media sites. Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, Jathedar of the Akal Takht chief, said that the act is not acceptable. He said that when police check people's vehicle documents, no "miscreant" had the right to mistreat young Sikh people or tear down Sikh flags displayed on their vehicles.
Manali DSP KD Sharma said that the police has taken action against the biker under the Motor Vehicles Act, and a case was filed, based on the Manali resident's complaint. Police said the accused had been identified.
Two separate incidents took place. Some tourists from Punjab arrived in Mainkaran and Kasol. A clash between bikers from Punjab and the owner of a village resort in Manikaran broke out. According to the India Today report quoting the resort owner, the bikers got into a heated argument with a man and a woman.
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The accused also abused the resort owner when he asked to stop the fight and remove the objectional flag featuring Khalistani terrorists; they also attacked him with swords and sticks.
In another incident in Kasol, a group of around 20 Punjabi tourists created chaos at the Special Area Development Authority (SADA) barrier. The tourists refused to pay the nominal maintenance fee and broke the barrier. A case has been registered against them.