Delhi Police Storms Gurdwara Bangla Sahib Bareheaded & Wearing Shoes: Punjab Speaker Sandhwan Condemns Violation of Sanctity

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday condemned the Delhi Police over alleged entry into Gurdwara Sri Bangla Sahib wearing shoes, with heads uncovered and carrying batons, while detaining young people protesting against alleged vote-chori. The party said the reported incident hurt Sikh religious sentiments and violated the sanctity of the holy shrine.

Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan accused the police of disrespecting the gurdwara while detaining young protesters.

“ A Shameful Act By Delhi Police Under The Modi Government. To detain young people raising their voices against vote-chori, police personnel entered Gurdwara Sri Bangla Sahib bare-headed and wearing shoes, violating the sanctity of the holy shrine,” Sandhwan said.

Senior AAP leader and Punjab Cabinet Minister Harpal Singh Cheema drew a comparison with Operation Blue Star in 1984, in which the Sikh community suffered immense hardship, and questioned whether the BJP-led government was allowing a similar disregard for the sanctity of a Sikh religious site.

“Just as the Congress inflicted immense suffering on the Sikh community through Operation Blue Star in 1984, does the BJP now want to violate the sanctity of Gurdwara Sri Bangla Sahib Ji in Delhi in a similar manner? We will not tolerate politics that inflicts such deep wounds on the Sikh community,” Cheema said.

AAP Punjab media in-charge Baltej Pannu also raised concerns over the reported incident, saying that Delhi Police had entered Gurdwara Bangla Sahib but that public figures had so far remained silent on the matter.

Punjab Cabinet Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur said the alleged police action had hurt the religious sentiments of the Sikh community. She described a gurdwara as a place of refuge for everyone and condemned the reported entry of police personnel wearing shoes, with heads uncovered and carrying batons.

AAP Delhi MLA Jarnail Singh also questioned why police action was taken inside the shrine. Referring to reports that personnel entered with shoes and batons and forcibly removed people, he called the incident serious and demanded answers from the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC).

AAP Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia similarly questioned the presence of Delhi Police inside Gurdwara Bangla Sahib.

Separately, AAP Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj shared a video purportedly showing police personnel dragging a Sikh protester along a street, during which the man’s trousers appeared to come off.

Bharadwaj tagged Union Home Minister Amit Shah while commenting on the footage. He said he had received the video from another person and added that, if authentic, the incident would be deeply shameful. He also alleged that Delhi Police had previously attempted to pull down protesters’ trousers.

The AAP leaders’ statements centred on allegations of disrespect towards Sikh religious traditions during the handling of protesters. The claims about the police action and the video were presented by the party and its leaders; the supplied statement did not include a response from Delhi Police or the DSGMC.