Ahead of the 31st anniversary of the Operation Bluestar carried out by the Indian Army in 1984 to flush out the hiding militants in the Akal Takht, and the bandh call by the various Sikh radical organisations for June 6, the Punjab Police has sounded a red alert in the holy city of Amritsar.
The State Director General of Police Sumedh Singh Saini has issued directions to increase surveillance in the entire State, especially in Amritsar.
Amritsar police has deployed 1,200 police personnel across the city, while 1,000 more have been called from other districts. Huge police deployment was made at the area around Hall Gate in Amritsar.
The deployment will be increased on June 5 and 6, and about 2000 police personnel would be stationed around the Golden Temple.
While the state police authorities are leaving no stone unturned in ensuring fool-proof arrangements for the anniversary, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) is also taking sufficient measures to ensure safety inside the Golden Temple complex.
As a precautionary measure, the police also staged a march in the city as the Akhand Path was started at Akal Takht in the Golden Temple complex in the memory of all those who were killed during Operation Bluestar in the shrine in June 1984.
The Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee organizes prayer in their memory every year on June 6 and the ceremony is attended mainly by the radical Sikh organizations.
The tension is arising this year as posters carrying pictures of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale have been torn at some places. The bhog would be performed on June 6 morning.