New Delhi, India (April 05, 2014): It is learnt that the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) personnel blocked road traffic in certain areas of Delhi on April 04.

According to Times of India (TOI) the protesters blocked Najafgarh Road for six hours, alleging that police had stopped them from holding a religious event in Tilak Vihar.

In wake of protests the police reportedly shut down three Metro stations in west Delhi.

According to Sikh24.Com: [t]ensions erupted ahead of the Lok Sabha elections again in the Tilak Vihar, also known as the “Widow Colony” of the New Delhi area. Independent sources say that a building residing on a four acre parcel of land in Tilak Vihar was being used to hold an Akhand Paath Sahib, an unbroken continuous 48 reading of the entire Guru Granth Sahib scripture. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Jarnail Singh has been in the process of obtaining legal possession of the land for the use of Sikh community, however with an eye to upcoming elections, actions by mischievous persons led to the interruption of the Akhand Paath Sahib taking place at the site.

According to the Times of India (TOI), the police claimed to have arrested a few people from Tilak Vihar for encroaching upon a government land following which local people staged the protest outside the Tilak Vihar police station.

As per information the Police said they had to divert traffic for hours. A few of the protesters even entered Tilak Nagar Metro station following which Tilak Nagar, Tagore Garden and Subhash Nagar stations were shut for few hours. Around 6 pm, the protesters ended their agitation.

Inderjeet Singh Monty, one of the protesters, reportedly said they were holding an Akhand Paath at the ground on Wednesday (April 03) night when they were stopped by police and a few of them were arrested. “There is a dispute over the land where the function was held, but we took permission to hold the programme,” said Monty. He added that the owner of the land had allowed them to hold the Akhand Paath.

According to TOI senior police officials, however, said the religious group was asked to hold the function at another spot.