Amritsar: The Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion, yesterday sought the intervention of the central government in the controversy over two Sikh players being forced to remove their 'patkas' (head kerchief) during an international basketball match in China recently.

Akal Takht Jathedar (chief) Gurbachan Singh termed the incident in China a shameful one and called on the central government should take appropriate steps on this issue and ensure that this did not happen again with Sikh players.