Indian police destroyed flags of a militant Sikh leader.

The rebel paraded Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale Khalistan's flags prompting traffic enforcers to remove the banners from the vehicles in Manali, Himachal Pradesh on March 17.

Footage shows traffic enforcers taking down the banners and confiscating a flagpole attached to the front of a two-wheeler.

Authorities later filed a First Information Report (FIR) against two bikers involved in the incident.

Meanwhile, on March 15, the owner of the Himalayan Village resort lodged another FIR after a group of motorcyclists from another state got into an argument with a couple. The owner reported that the bikers, carrying Bhindranwale's flags, attacked a local driver, Ramesh, with swords and sticks during the altercation.

On March 18, activists from the radical Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa posted pictures of Khalistani separatist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale on a Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus in Punjab's Hoshiarpur.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu commented on the escalating tensions, said: 'On Holi, an assassination attempt was made on former Congress MLA Bumber Thakur. The investigation is ongoing, but given the statements he has been making, especially against his political rival, the situation does not look good. I expect the government to take serious note of this.'

The Khalistan movement, a campaign for an independent Sikh nation, led to tens of thousands of deaths in the 1980s and 1990s and has been linked to the assassination of an Indian prime minister and a passenger jet bombing. Though banned in India, the movement remains a diplomatic flashpoint with Western nations, where some Sikh activists accuse New Delhi of orchestrating assassinations of separatist leaders. The Indian government continues to demand stronger action against key figures in the movement, who are accused of terrorism.

Bhindranwale was killed along with his armed followers at the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar during Operation Blue Star in 1984, an offensive ordered by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The Indian Army launched the operation to eliminate Bhindranwale, who led the Sikh religious sect Damdami Taksal and had stockpiled weapons inside the Golden Temple.

Sikh-Hindu tensions have historically been shaped by political, religious, and social factors, with key events escalating conflicts between the two communities. While Sikhs and Hindus once coexisted peacefully, the 20th century saw rising tensions over demands for Sikh autonomy and government actions perceived as oppressive.