Operation Blue Star anniversary: Dal Khalsa calls for Amritsar shutdown

Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place at Amritsar and several parts of Punjab, ahead of the 32nd anniversary of Operation Blue Star.

Over 8,000 security personnel - including paramilitary forces - have been deployed in Punjab.

Sikh hardliner group Dal Khalsa has called for a shutdown in Amritsar. Dal Khalsa spokesperson, Kanwar Pal Singh, said that the shutdown was called to protest against the sacrilege, the killing of innocent pilgrims, and loot of manuscripts from the Sikh Reference Library.

However, Singh said that medical stores across the city would stay open. He also assured that the shutdown would not affect road and rail traffic.

On 4 June, Punjab Police reportedly detained several radical leaders of the Sikh body in raids at various places in the state as a preventive measure to maintain law and order in the city.