LAHORE  -  Indian Sikh pilgrim family, which was swindled in Lahore, met with Chief Secretary Punjab Zahid Akhtar Zaman at the Civil Secretari­at here on Tuesday and thanked the Punjab government for the early ar­rest of the accused and recovery of stolen money and valuables.

The Sikh family praised the pro­fessionalism of the Punjab police and said: “The way the Punjab gov­ernment took care of us is unpar­alleled.” The Chief Secretary, “Sikh pilgrims are our guests and it is our responsibility to provide them with security.” He said it would be ensured that such an unpleasant in­cident does not recur in future. He mentioned that all kinds of facilities are being provided to the Sikh com­munity to perform their religious rituals, adding that accommoda­tion, transport and security are be­ing given to the Sikh pilgrims under a special tourism package.

The Chief Secretary said that the Punjab government has recently launched a Sikh Yatra booking por­tal through which Sikh pilgrims from all over the world can avail online hotel booking, transport and security. DIG Operations Ali Nasir Rizvi said that taking notice of the incident, the Punjab Chief Minister had ordered the immedi­ate arrest of the accused. He said that the Punjab police arrested the accused from Karachi within four days by tracking the swindlers with the help of Safe City Authority and private CCTV cameras.