Amarinder deputes 4-member team to Shillong

Concerned about reports of security threats to Sikhs in Shillong, the Amarinder Singh government in Punjab has decided to rush a four-member team headed by Cabinet Minister Sukhjinder Randhawa to the Meghalayan capital, an official said here today. The team will make a ground assessment of the situation in the troubled areas and extend all possible help to the Sikh community there, an official spokesperson said.

The chief minister has directed the team, which has MPs Gurjit Aujla and Ravneet Bittu, and MLA Kuldip Singh Vaid as its members, to leave for Shillong on Monday morning.

Amarinder Singh has sought Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma's cooperation in facilitating the team's visit and ensuring their access to areas from where reports of tension were coming in, said the spokesperson.

The Punjab chief minister also urged Sangma to provide protection and safety to the Sikh community and their religious institutions in the state, the spokesperson said.

The decision to send a team to Shillong was triggered by reports that, despite the Meghalayan chief minister's assurance, the situation was still not under control and had the potential of escalating further, said the spokesperson.

Amarinder Singh has offered all possible help to the Meghalayan government in ensuring the security of the Dalit Sikhs, whose ancestors were reportedly brought to Shillong during the British era.

The Punjab chief minister said, if necessary, the Centre should intervene to defuse communal tensions in which the Sikhs in Shillong were caught.

Earlier, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma called up Amarinder Singh to assure him of the safety of the Sikh community.

Sangma had called up the Punjab chief minister on Friday night to apprise him of the situation in the state in the wake of communal violence triggered by a minor incident and to allay any apprehensions of the Sikh community being under attack.