Amritsar, March 22
A member of the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Suraksha Samiti was arrested while three were rounded up for questioning in connection with the desecration of a religious place yesterday in the Hall Bazar area. The police has identified all miscreants involved in the incident. Sahil Sharma of Bhadarkali has been arrested while the others are Harish Sharma, Vikas Anand both of Gurbaksh Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Tejinder Kumar, Sahib Dhir and Lada, both residents of Gate Hakima.

Another accused in the incident, Vikas Anand, surrendered to the police.

However, the DGP, Mr Sarabjit Singh, said at a press conference at Phillaur today that three of the seven accused in the sacrilege at Amritsar had been arrested.

Those arrested today included Sahil Sharma. All three belong to Amritsar.

The DGP disclosed that it was established during the preliminary investigation that Sanjiv Bharadwaj, the Patiala-based state president of the samiti, was coordinating all activities.

He said the police was likely to nab Sanjiv Bharadwaj soon. He said the police was also on the look out for Rajiv Tandon of Ludhiana as there were apprehensions that similar incidents might take place in Ludhiana also.

Meanwhile all Hindu, Sikh and other organisations severely condemned the incident. Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, President of SHSAD, while talking to The Tribune said the real faces behind the incident should be exposed. “The incident, which took place in broad daylight, had put a question mark on the state of affairs under the Badal government, he said. He further said all sections of the IPC under which the accused had been booked were bailable offences, hence they were a mere “eyewash”. Exemplary punishment for the offence was necessitated in the case of such serious nature, he added.

Mr Simranjit Singh Mann said he was going to Amritsar to take stock of the situation arising out of the unsavoury incident. In a prominent gesture the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in a condemnation note said the act by the Hindu Suraksha Samiti was against the Hindu tradition. Mr Brij Bhushan Bedi, president of the state unit of the RSS, said the act smelled of anti-nationalism.

The Dal Khalsa, a radical Sikh organisation, called for declaring the newly formed Hindu organisation a terrorist outfit and sought the arrest of its office-bearers and members.

The Congress, the CPI, the CPM and the Bahujan Samajwadi Party at a joint meeting objected to the incident aimed at undoing the hard won peace of the state.

PHAGWARA: The Anjuman Dawtey Islamia Committee on Thursday condemned the sacrilegious act, which took place at Khair Din Masjid in Amritsar on Wednesday, even as Sikh leaders expressed solidarity with the Muslims. 

JALANDHAR: The incident of burning of a holy book and throwing pork in a religious place in Amritsar has shocked everybody here with a number of social and political organisations calling the incident as an effort by unscrupulous elements to disturb communal harmony.

A Muslim National Front, Punjab, delegation led by its president Sayeed Yaqoob Naqvi gave a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr K. Shiva Prasad, demanding stern action against those who had committed the crime.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) has also criticised the incident and has demanded strict action against those behind it.

PATIALA: Miscreants allegedly burnt a book by pouring kerosene on it at Arya Samaj Chowk in the afternoon here today.

Police sources said the suspects fled as soon as the police arrived at the scene. Workers of various parties indulged in sloganeering following the incident.