Four Nihangs accused of a lethal sword attack in Karnaprayag, Chamoli district, on June 16 have been granted bail by the court of District and Sessions Judge.
Among them, Satvinder Singh, Ajay Singh, and Jaspreet Singh are in judicial custody, while the injured Nihang, Manpreet Singh, is undergoing treatment at AIIMS Rishikesh under police supervision. The three accused were produced in court on Saturday, where they were granted bail.
The granting of bail to the Nihangs has brought relief to the administration, as several groups of Nihangs from Punjab are currently stationed at the Paonta Sahib Gurudwara. However, court proceedings regarding the case will continue, and further action will be taken in accordance with the law.
Earlier, a delegation of Nihangs—who had set up a protest camp at the Kulhal border between Himachal and Uttarakhand—was allowed to meet the three incarcerated Nihangs.
The delegation also met the fourth Nihang admitted to AIIMS Rishikesh and expressed satisfaction with the quality of medical care he was receiving. The bail granted to the Nihangs suggests that the tension at the Paonta Sahib-Kulhal border between Uttarakhand and Himachal is likely to subside.
A large number of Nihangs arriving from Punjab at Paonta Sahib had created a commotion at the Kulhal border throughout Thursday and managed to slip past the police to enter Dehradun late that night.
However, around 2:30 AM, the police escorted all the Nihangs back to the Paonta border. On Friday, a case was registered at the Kulhal police outpost against 150–200 unidentified Nihangs. Additionally, during several rounds of talks lasting nearly three hours between police-administration officials and the Nihangs at the Paonta Gurudwara, the Nihangs put forward four demands.