Akali Dal demands return of Sikh treasure 'taken away' by Army during Op Bluestar

The Shiromani Akali Dal Thursday demanded immediate handing over of precious treasure of Sikhs allegedly seized by the Army during the 1984 Operation Bluestar as well as regular pension to those who left the forces after the armed intervention to flush out terrorists from the Golden Temple.

The demand was placed before Union Home Minister Amit Shah by a SAD delegation led by party chief Sukhbir Singh Badal.

"The Sikh community is eagerly waiting for the precious treasure which the attacking army seized and was taken away during the attack," Badal told reporters after the meeting.

"It includes important holy scriptures, artefacts, thousands of historical books and collection part of the Sikh Reference Library and relics belonging to Sri Guru Sahib and other Sikh personalities. These should be located and returned to the community with due honour," he said.

Badal said 309 serving Sikh personnel had left the Army after the security forces attacked their most revered religious place under the Operation Bluestar, and all of them were dismissed from the service.

"Around 100 of them are still alive. We humbly request for their rehabilitation and pension benefits. This will give a positive message to the aggrieved Sikh community," the SAD chief added.

The Akali Dal leader also said the central government is going to celebrate the 550th year birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev after four months. He said one of the programmes scheduled is 'Nagar Kirtan' from India to Nankana Sahib, the birth place of the founder of Sikh religion, in Pakistan.

"We have requested that this event be organised by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (DSGMC). We have requested that the Government of India may liaison with the Pakistan government for successful organisation of this 'Nagar Kirtan'," he added.