Sikhs protest prisoner's hair cut

19 Mar 2009, 0345 hrs IST, TNN
AJMER: The members of the Sikh community in Ajmer organized a protest march in the town on Wednesday and demanded the suspension of a jailer of the central jail who allegedly cut the hairs of an undertrail prisoner, Sukhvinder Singh. They warned of a bandh in Ajmer if justice was not done to the prisoner. Hundreds of protesters gathered at the gate of the dargah and marched towards the district headquarters. They were shouting slogans against the jail administration, demanding action against jailer Govind Singh. "This is a shocking incident which has hurt our religious sentiments and we would not allow this," said Guljeet Singh Chabra, a member of the community. "Even if he is a prisoner, he too has the right to practice religion," he added.' The protesters marched towards the collectorate demanding a high-level inquiry into the issue. "The state government should take action against the jail authorities so that such incidents are not repeated," said Narender Singh. "We are not interested in the rules of jail administration but hurting religious feeling is something against Constitution," added Avinash Singh Hura. "If justice is not done, we will call for an Ajmer bandh next week," said Narender Singh. A memorandum was given to the district magistrate demanding suspension of the jailer. Meanwhile, women members called a meeting in Hatibhata Gurdwara and decided that no one shall be allowed to interfere in religious practices. "Keeping hairs is something religious to a Sikh and cutting it is a sin," said Balvinder Kaur of Gurdwara. Meanwhile, deputy inspector general of police, Mukut Behari Purohit, who conducted an inquiry into the incident, submitted his report to the DGP on Wednesday.
With thanks : timesofindia.indiatimes.com