A group of people, led by the family of a Muslim man who married a Sikh teenager, held a day-long sit-in outside Gurdwara Janamesthan Nanakana Sahib near here on Friday to protest the arrest of their relatives who were held for alleged forced conversion of the girl, police said.
Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, also known as the Gurdwara Janam Asthan, is the site where the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, was born. It is regarded as one of the holiest Sikh sites.
According to police, the man named Hassan married 18-year-old Jagjit Kaur in September last year after abducting her and converting her to Islam.
According to some Indian media reports, a mob attack took place at the shrine. The reports suggested that hundreds of angry residents at Nankana Sahib pelted the Sikh pilgrims with stones on Friday
Replying to a question on reports in the Indian media about the country strongly condemning the vandalism at the revered gurdwara, Hashmi claimed, "The protesters remained peaceful. They ended the demonstration after police released a detained person."