HOUSTON – The Harris County community will say final goodbyes to Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal on Wednesday, after he was gunned down last week during a traffic stop.
Final ceremonies for Dhaliwal began Monday and will come to a close Wednesday with a procession, funeral service, speeches and ceremonies lasting all day. Daljit Singh, a committee member of the Gurdwara Sikh National Center, gave KPRC a breakdown of Wednesday's events.
Here's a schedule and what you can expect at each point during Dhaliwal's traditional Sikh funeral Wednesday.
- 7:30 a.m. — Dhaliwal's body will be escorted by the Harris County Sheriff's Office to the Berry Center of Northwest Houston, where the funeral will take place. The procession route will be about 18 miles long.
- 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. — A public viewing will be held for Dhaliwal at the Berry Center of Northwest Houston ahead of the ceremony.
- 10:30 to 11 a.m. — The traditional Sikh funeral rites or Antam Sanskar will begin with a priest singing shabad, or sacred hymns. At different points during the shabad, the priest will pause to translate what is being said for people who don't speak Punjabi.
- 11 to 11:30 a.m. — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Dr. Hardam Singh Azad and two others are expected to speak.
- 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. — Members of the Harris County Sheriff's Office will say farewell to Dhaliwal with full honors and a 21-gun salute. After that, the Dhaliwal family and members of HCSO will go to the funeral home for the cremation. Meanwhile, the public is invited to the Gurdwara Sikh National Center for the next part of the funeral rituals.
- 12:30 to 5 p.m. — The Akhand Path Sahib, the 48-hour long prayer vigil at the Gurdwara Sikh National Center is expected to end by 4 p.m. Meanwhile, members of the community will take part in Langar or communal meal. The Gurdwara is prepared for more than 1,000 guests to attend the Langar. There will also be international speakers from the United Kingdom and Australia who will talk about Dhaliwal's contributions.
The public is invited to attend the public viewing and funeral services at Berry Center of Northwest Houston and the Langar at the Gurdwara Sikh National Center. Only the cremation will be closed to the public.
KPRC will bring you livestreams of the early morning procession to escort Dhaliwal's body to Berry Center and the funeral services mid-morning Wednesday.