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GS Paul
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, July 1
Jugraj Singh, the man who climbed up the flagpole on the Red Fort to hoist ‘Nishan Sahib’ or ‘Khalsa Flag’ (Flag with Sikh holy symbol) during January 26 tractor parade violence, has said it was never planned the way things rolled out under the influence of farm agitation.
At a time when the Delhi police were nabbing the accused from Punjab and elsewhere, a Delhi court has granted 22-year-old Jugraj an interim protection from arrest till July 20.
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Showing gratitude towards the court and the Dal Khalsa activists who had submitted and procured anticipatory bail application on his behalf, Jugraj said he had absolutely no connection with separatist movement.
Ever since the visuals of Jugraj hoisting the Nishan Sahib were shared on social media, the teams of police and intelligence have been visiting his home at Vaan Tara Singh village in Tarn Taran. He was booked for rioting and sedition by Delhi Police for Republic Day violence and has since been on the run. Police have announced a bounty of Rs 1 lakh to anyone who can provide information that could lead to his arrest.
“I went with my friends to participate in the farm protest at Delhi borders only. On January 26, the farm unions communicated to conduct a march on the Ring Road only. There was no pre-planned programme to go to Lal Quila, but as everyone was in high spirits, I too went there with the flow of sangat,” he said.
He added that the fellow protesters who could not climb the flagpole to hoist the ‘Khalsa flag’ asked him (Jugraj) to climb the flagpole and then he agreed to do so. “Without considering its repercussions, I just did it out of ‘josh’. It was a bare pole with no flag on it, as was being wrongly projected earlier,” he said.
When asked about Deep Sidhu who was charged as main conspirator, he said, “I had never heard about him or met him. We were a group of friends and were in high spirits then.”
On June 30, SGPC awarded the family of Jugraj Singh. In a social media post, SGPC wrote, “SGPC honoured the family of Sikh youth Bhai Jugraj Singh who hoisted the Kesri Flag on Red Fort with Rs 1 lakh. SGPC member Bhai Manjit Singh handed over this appreciation amount to the family of Bhai Jugraj Singh.”
On June 29, the Delhi Police had arrested Buta Singh (25) from Talwandi Sabo. He had helped Jugraj Singh to hoist the flag. There was a bounty of Rs 50,000 for his arrest. Another accused, Gurjot Singh, was also arrested on June 28.
Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh said Additional Sessions Judge Neelofer Abida Perveen granted interim protection subject to the condition that Jugraj shall join the investigation in the two FIRs registered against him. “He will join the investigation being carried out by special branch at New Delhi on July 8, 11 and 15,” he said.
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