Normal life was disrupted in Mohali and surrounding areas on Tuesday following the call for Punjab bandh given by various radical Sikh outfits to protest inaction against those accused of 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

A majority of commercial establishments, private educational institutions and banks were closed as protesters blocked traffic on the busy Mohali-Kharar stretch of the National Highway-21 and marched through various parts of the city.

However, the statewide strike passed off peacefully with no untoward incident reported from any part of the district, Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said in the evening.

Though the government offices, schools and colleges were open, they wore a deserted look, registering a thin attendance. The main roads too witnessed comparatively less traffic, with many private transports remaining off roads.

To muster maximum support, the leaders of the Akali Dal Panch Pardhani, Dal Khalsa, Damdami Taksal, Akhand Kirtani Jatha, Guru Asra Trust, Akali Dal 1920, Akali Dal Delhi (Sarna) and All-India Sikh Students’ Federation met at the Gurdwara Amb Sahib in Phase VIII at 10 am before taking out a protest march.

The situation turned tense in the Phase-V market around 10.30 am when police personnel started checking the vehicles of protesters, who were taking a round of the markets to ensure a complete bandh.

Strongly opposing the police action, Akali Dal Panch Pardhani general secretary Sandeep Singh Canadian and Guru Asra Trust Palsora’s head Kanwar Singh Dhami offered SP (City) Sukhwant Singh Gill to arrest them instead of what they termed as “harassing” their activists who were holding peaceful protest.

At 12.30 pm, the protesters, including young students and women from Guru Asra Trust, squatted on the middle of the NH-21 in Balongi and started reciting Gurbani, bringing the heavy volume of vehicular traffic to a grinding halt.

The police officers kept persuading the protesters but till 2 pm, the protest continued unabatedly leading to major traffic snarls.

Traffic was diverted from Mohali and Kharar through Sohana, Landran, Ramgarh and Daon, forcing motorists to take detours.

In Balongi, Gurnam Kaur, mother of Gen A K Vaidya’s alleged assassin Harjinder Singh Jinda, and Harbans Kaur, widow of another alleged assassin Charanjit Singh Channi, joined the protest.