Chandigarh, November 29
The Punjab Government has decided to move the Government of India to ban the alleged unlawful activities of followers of the Noormahlia sect who operate under the name and style of Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sanstha in the state.
A press note issued here tonight said the state government had been watching the activities of the sanstha for sometime as its activities had been objected to by some sections of the Sikh community. This had led to confrontations between some sections of the Sikhs and the followers of the sanstha. Cases had been registered in the past against both parties. Although the situation had remained defused for sometime, an incident took place in Mahilpur on November 25 which had led to tension between the Sikhs and the followers of the sanstha.
In view of these developments, the Punjab Government today decided that to ensure peace and prevent the disruption of law and order, stringent measures would have to be taken. The provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, were examined and it was found that the Act was a Central Act and only the Government of India could take action under the provisions of that Act. In the past, the Government of India had used provisions of the Act to ban various organisations like the RSS, the VHP, and the Bajrang Dal.
It was also decided to take action under the preventive sections of the law available to the state government to curb the activities of the followers of the sanstha so that law and order problems did not take place in future. District Magistrates were being instructed to issue orders accordingly and SSPs were also being directed to ensure the enforcement of the orders to prevent any disturbances in the state.
