The Indian Army on Tuesday issued a clarification denying the deployment of air defence (AD) guns or any related systems at the Golden Temple during Operation Sindoor. This statement came in response to media reports and comments made by the Army’s Director General of Air Defence. In its official statement, the Army emphasized, “There are reports about AD guns being deployed at the Golden Temple. We clarify that no air defence weapons or resources were positioned within the premises of Sri Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple), Amritsar.”

This clarification followed an interview given by Lieutenant General Sumer Ivan D’Cunha to ANI, in which he claimed that air defence systems had been placed to protect the Golden Temple during the operation. He mentioned that once the threat was explained, the temple management permitted the deployment, and the lights were turned off to improve visibility of incoming drones. However, these claims were immediately refuted by both the temple authorities and Sikh religious leaders.

Giani Raghbir Singh, Head Granthi of the Golden Temple, stated he was overseas during the operation and had no interaction with any Army personnel. He added that if any SGPC member was involved, the matter would be looked into. Additional Head Priest Giani Amarjeet Singh also rejected the claim, stating that the lights were turned off in accordance with blackout orders from the Amritsar district administration, not due to military deployment.

The SGPC, the top Sikh religious body, confirmed it did not grant any permission for the Army to deploy inside the Golden Temple complex. Operation Sindoor was a retaliatory mission involving missile strikes on terrorist infrastructure at nine sites across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). It was launched following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. In response, Pakistan escalated tensions by launching intense shelling across border regions, prompting blackouts in districts along the Line of Control (LoC) in Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and Rajasthan.