‘Assault On Bizman One-Off Case, Sikhs In Odisha Safe’

Bhubaneswar: Condemning the assault on Parvinder Pal Singh, the Orissa Sikh Pratinidhi Board (OSPB) on Thursday said that some vested interests were trying to connect the incident with Mangu Mutt and giving it a different colour.

On Wednesday, Akali Dal spokesperson Manjinder S Sirsa had tweeted that Parvinder was attacked for protesting against the demolition of Mangu Mutt in Puri and threatened to hit the streets if Odisha government failed to resolve the matter.

In a communiqué, the OSPB termed it was a sporadic incident and expressed satisfaction over the police action. “The Commissioner of Police has assured us that they will make a prayer for fast-tracking of the trial. We have full faith in the country’s judicial process,” it said.

It further claimed that local MLA Ananta Narayan Jena along with some high-ranking police officials had visited the victim’s residence and assured him full support and protection.

“We all feel very safe and secure in Odisha and have made the State our home. The State of Odisha has always stood by us and we request everyone not to believe any motivated misrepresentation of the incident and maintain peace and harmony,” the OSPB appealed in the communiqué.