A day after the protests at Jantar Mantar ended, Gurdwara Bangla Sahib in central Delhi returned to its usual weekend rhythm, with devotees replacing the protesting students who had made the place their shelter for food and rest during the agitation.

On Sunday night, more than 24 hours after the Cockroach Janta Party-led protests were called off, a team from The Tribune visited the gurdwara at 9.30 pm. The place was packed with the usual weekend crowd of devotees, young couples, seniors and people clicking selfies.

“The protestors who took refuge here have gone back,” said a volunteer at the gate when asked if any students were still around. A small group of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troop, stood guard at the both the entrances of the Gurdwara – one from Ashoka Road and the other from Baba Kharak Singh Marg.

The gurdwara was witnessing its regular activities, hundreds were partaking the langar (community meal) on the ground floor air-conditioned ‘langar hall’ while another queue of the devout waited to enter the first-floor sanctum that is topped with the iconic golden dome, a landmark in Delhi.

Since July 20, the first day when the Delhi Police and the Rapid Action Force (RAF) used batons and lathis on protesters, hundreds of them had been sleeping during the night on mattresses provided by the gurdwara management. President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) Harmeet Singh Kalka said, “Each day, some 2,500-3,000 students were having langar (community meal) at the Bangla Sahib.” Facilities were not stopped and no one’s entry was barred, added Kalka, pointing to the global praise the Sikh community had garnered for providing shelter to protesting students.

Kalka dismissed claims made by his rivals Paramjit Singh Sarna and Manjit Singh GK, both former presidents of the DSGMC, who claimed students had been making political statements out of frustration and nothing more.

Sarna, who heads the Delhi unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal, had said on Saturday that Harmeet Singh Kalka and his entire team should resign. Sarna alleged, “The government agencies dug up the approach to Bangla Sahib in wake of Gen-Z students taking shelter at the historic gurdwara during the Jantar Mantar protest.”

Kalka clarified that none of the approaches to the gurdwara had been dug up. “An underground power cable inside the premises was faulty and is being repaired,” he explained. Manjit Singh GK claimed there were ‘attempts’ to stop the ‘langar-seva’ for students, which Kalka denied.