Dharamsala, (Asian independent) In the run-up to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 matches here, miscreants inscribed “Khalistan Zindabad” on walls of a government building in this Himachal Pradesh town, home to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, the police said on Wednesday.
The police have erased the slogans and started taking legal action against the matter, officials told IANS.
Earlier, posters of Khalistan, a separatist movement seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs by establishing a sovereign state, surfaced in May last year at the main entrance of the state legislative Assembly campus here.
Dharamsala is some 250 km from the state capital.
The police said investigations were on and also asked the locals not to feel threatened by the posters.
“It is an act of mischievous elements. We are taking legal action against this,” a senior police official told IANS.
“Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) released footage of the inscription which were defaced with a pro-Khalistan slogan,” said the official.
The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) will be hosting Bangladesh vs Afghanistan on Saturday, followed by England vs Bangladesh on October 10, South Africa vs Netherlands on October 17, India vs New Zealand on October 22 and Australia vs New Zealand on October 28.
The HPCA Stadium, one of the newest stadiums in the country with the mighty Dhauladhar range in the backdrop, is located in the Kangra district of Dharamsala.
