UTTARAKHAND: A large group of Nihang Sikhs on Thursday (June 25, 2026) night forced their way through security barriers and moved towards Hemkund Sahib after clashing with the police near the Himachal Pradesh-Uttarakhand border.
Police have been heavily deployed since Tuesday night when Nihangs declared their march toward the state in the wake of escalating tensions following an argument at two gurdwaras.
Visuals showed the entire Kulhal-Vikasnagar border on the Himachal Pradesh-Uttarakhand frontier turning into a fortress with dozens of police personnel, many of them in anti-riot gear, placed behind multiple layers of barricades and concrete barriers.
Security forces had been on alert ever since Nihangs announced their plan to march into the state from Mohali, Punjab, as a result of a dispute involving a section of community members and residents around two gurdwaras- one at Karnaprayag and the other at Nagrasu.
#WATCH | Security tightened at the Dehradun-Himachal border following a dispute between Nihang Sikhs and residents in Karnaprayag, Chamoli district, after which a group of Nihang Sikhs breached the Kulhal barrier at the Uttarakhand–Himachal Pradesh border and entered Uttarakhand… pic.twitter.com/dDXQ5OkJN7
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) June 26, 2026
The Uttarakhand government had then transformed the Kulhal police outpost and its surrounding area into a heavily fortified zone to stop any such movement.
A section of the marching group of Nihangs on Thursday night crossed the barricades and advanced, said SP (Rural) Pankaj Gairola, adding the situation is under control and negotiations are on to maintain law and order.
Local administration and police officers were also at the spot to pacify the angry Nihangs, but failed to reach a concrete solution. The group, which set out from the Gurdwaras of Mohali, Punjab, vowed not to return to their home state until their four arrested comrades were released and added that they were ready to resolve the issue amicably.
Four members of a Nihang group were arrested last week by the police under the charge of assaulting locals after an argument during a pilgrimage at a gurdwara at Karnaprayag.
A group from a section of the Sikh community claimed that the state administration was taking “one-sided” action.
Earlier this week, a clash broke out on June 16 in the district of Chamoli as residents from Karnaprayag got into an altercation with a group of Nihangs after one among the group brandished a sword, resulting in the injuries of locals and the arrest of four Nihangs in the wake of an alleged “biased” response from the police and the administration, claimed a section of the Sikh fraternity.
Two Nihang Sikhs agreed to leave an Uttarakhand gurdwara last week after negotiations. Talks with another group of Nihangs who entered the state last month and occupied an area within the complex are continuing.
