Shops and markets remained shut at some places in Punjab on Friday (August 21, 2026) morning while security was tightened at the Chandigarh-Mohali border points in the wake of a ‘Punjab Bandh’ call given by the Qaumi Insaf Morcha to press for the release of ‘Bandi Singhs’ (Sikh prisoners).
Heavy police deployment has been made at many places in the State, including Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar, to maintain law and order. Chandigarh Police personnel, including the Rapid Action Force (RAF), have been deputed along the barricades put up at the Mohali-Chandigarh border points. The call for the bandh has been given from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Morcha has been demanding parole for Jagtar Singh Hawara, who is serving a life sentence for the assassination of then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in 1995.
Rajoana is a convict in the 1995 assassination of Beant Singh, while Bhullar is serving a sentence in connection with a 1993 bomb blast case in Delhi.
