After hours of a standoff between a group of Nihangs and the administration at the Himachal Pradesh-Uttarakhand border in Dehradun, the group returned to Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh in the early hours of Friday (June 26, 2026) following negotiations with authorities.Scuffle breaks out among Nihang Sikh groups at Punjab’s Sohana's GurdwaraThe development brought an end to the tension that prevailed at the Kulhal checkpoint in the Vikasnagar area on Thursday night (June 25, 2026), where a large group of the Sikh sect clashed with the police, pushed through security barricades in an attempt to go towards Hemkund Sahib, a revered Sikh pilgrimage, in Uttarakhand.However, the Nihang group joined others from their sect at Paonta Sahib Gurdwara, where discussions are still on with senior officials of Uttarakhand Police and administration.According to officials, the Nihangs have called off their planned protest march in Uttarakhand related to a recent dispute at the Karnaprayag market in Chamoli and a gurdwara in Nagrasu.After meeting police and district administration authorities, the group, which had gathered at the Race Course Gurdwara in Dehradun, left the premises around 3:30 a.m. in two vehicles under police escort for their safe passage across the state border. The Paonta Sahib Gurdwara is only a few kilometres away.On Thursday, there was a heavy police deployment in advance, following the announcement of a protest by Nihang groups to march towards the state, to prevent their entry. The entire Kulhal-Vikasnagar outpost was turned into a fortified police zone, with personnel in riot gear standing behind multi-layered metal barricades.Also Read | Explained: Who are the Nihangs?Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pramendra Dobal said police personnel had been deployed throughout near the Kulhal border since the morning. He thanked the members of the Sikh community who accepted the administration’s request and agreed to return to Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh.“A few people had crossed the area (the checkpoint), and one or two vehicles had proceeded along the route. We spoke to them at length, and they, too, agreed to return,” Dobal said, adding that he hoped peace, harmony, and mutual goodwill would continue.