Himachal Pradesh halts buses on 10 routes to Punjab amid row over Bhindranwale posters

The Himachal Pradesh Transport Corporation on Wednesday indefinitely suspended services on 10 routes to Punjab after two of its buses were vandalised in Hoshiarpur and Mohali in the past two days amid a row over images of Khalistan separatist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Hindustan Times reported.

“As a preventive measure, we have suspended services on 10 routes to Punjab,” Himachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri told the state Assembly. “We will resume services only after the situation becomes normal. We are in touch with the Punjab authorities. Punjab is our big brother and we will resolve the issue amicably.”

The buses were vandalised amid a row that erupted after two tourists from Punjab allegedly displayed a flag featuring images of Bhindranwale on their bikes in Himachal Pradesh’s Manali.

The police registered a first information report against the two tourists based on a complaint filed on March 14 by a man named Subhash from Manali, India Today reported.

Subhash claimed that he saw the two men from Punjab carrying a flag of Bhindranwale’s image on their bikes and asked them to remove it. However, he claimed that the bikers threatened to kill him, according to India Today. Locals intervened and forced the bikers to remove the flag.

Following the altercation, activists from Dal Khalsa, a radical Sikh organisation, in Punjab allegedly...

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