M A I N   N E W S

Curfew in Gurdaspur after clashes
Ravi Dhaliwal/TNS

The police was on its toes since late last evening when members of radical organisations held a meeting at Geeta meeting at Geeta Bhawan Temple to “condemn the manner in which some youths had brandished sharp-edged weapons during the bandh on Wednesday in protest against the hanging of Balwant Singh Rajoana.” After the meeting, the Shiv Sena gave a bandh call for Thursday.

As members of radical groups took to the streets brandishing arms, the authorities decided to impose a curfew after a high-level meeting, said Varinder Pal Singh, SSP.

There was tension in the air since late last evening when the police booked Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) chief Harvinder Soni for allegedly damaging motorcycles.

MLA Babbehali’s appeal

Gurdaspur MLA Gurbachan Singh Babbehali has appealed to members of all communities to maintain peace and communal harmony.

Congress legislators of Gurdaspur district, including DCC chief Sukhjinder Randhawa, Tripit Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Aruna Chowdhury, Ashwani Sekhri and Charanjit Kaur Bajwa have urged the state government to hold a judicial probe into the sequence of events leading to the imposition of the curfew and table the report in the assembly at the earliest.