Kapurthala/Phagwara, May 25
Deputy Commissioner Raj Kamal Chaudhury escaped unhurt in an attack by protesters at two places near Kartarpur and Bidhipur railway crossing in Jalandhar district when he was trying to go to Phagwara from Kapurthala to control the situation there.

His three gunmen Karnail Singh, Sukhwinder and Harbans Singh sustained injuries while protecting the DC from the protesters. The DC’s official vehicle and the Gypsy of his gunmen were torched by the mob.

Narrating the incident, Chaudhury told The Tribune that he was going to Phagwara from Kartarpur side to control the situation there after Sunday midnight.

When they reached near Bidhipur level crossing, a large number of protesters were present and a couple of buses were burning there.

On seeing them, the protesters started pelting stones. Keeping in mind the large number of protesters, the DC thought it wise to return to Kapurthala.

However when they were retuning to Kapurthala, another mob of protesters armed with sharp-edged weapons came on the road near Kartarpur. They started pelting the vehicles of the DC and his gunmen with stones and also tried to attack them with sharp-edged weapons.

The gunmen did their best to protect the DC. However, three of them sustained injuries in the attack.

The DC and the gunmen managed to save their lives by running from the site after leaving their vehicles behind, which were badly damaged.

Chaudhury called another vehicle and returned to Kapurthala. The DC said he succeeded in reaching Phagwara today morning. He supervised the situation and called the Army immediately and imposed curfew in Phagwara subdivision.

A complete bandh was observed in Kapurthala and Phagwara. Irate mob reportedly burnt seven motorcycles in some areas of Phagwara located near Banga Road, Gaushala and Bansa bazaars.

Two persons were hurt in a clash between two groups belonging to the Ravidass community and shopkeepers on Banga Road as the protesters tried to torch some shops which had already been closed.

The protesters also tried to torch the engine of the Maurya Dhwaj Express train in Phagwara.

Meanwhile, the one-hour relaxation from 5.30 pm passed off peacefully in Phagwara.

Jalandhar, May 25
As the district administration imposed curfew in Jalandhar and Phagwara to control the tense situation, the residents of both the cities faced shortage of essential commodities. One-hour relaxation in the curfew in the evening failed to provide much respite.

Housewife Rekha Kaushal of Nijatam Nagar said we could not go to dairy located in New Vijay Nagar due to curfew. Even during the relaxation hours, they could only get one litre of milk instead of four litre.

Similarly, for a large number of residents especially children, who got milk from milkmen, it was a difficult day. Jitendra of Gopal Nagar said when his milkman did not come, he went to a shop to get packed milk but the shop was closed.

In some areas, including Central Town, the residents were seen surrounding the milkmen during relaxation in the curfew to get some milk for their children.

Long queues of persons were seen at the shops of essential commodities during one-hour relaxation in curfew. People flocked chemist shops, general stores, vegetable and fruits shops.

The citizens also faced shortage of petroleum products. No petrol station was seen open even during relaxation of curfew, whereas several persons in want of petrol and diesel were moving from one petrol station to another in the city.

Jalandhar, May 25
The passengers, who were left stranded following an attack by an angry mob on Jammu-bound Jammu Tawi Express at Jalandhar cantonment railway station this morning, took refuge nearby gurdwara situated in Birring village. Three bogies of the train were put on fire. A majority of the passengers were those going to Vaishno Devi in Jammu for summer vacations.

“Though the protesters were equipped with weapons, they did no threaten us. We were simply asked to vacate the train,” said Shri Chand Ochani, a passenger. “We were told to take shelter in the gurdwara by some locals,” said Saroj Ahirwal, who was also going to Vaishno Devi. Among the stranded passengers were two honeymoon couples who recently got married on May 19 and 20 and were a part of a group of Sindhi family from Datia near Jhansi.

“It was a harrowing experience for us. The mob started pelting stones on our compartment. Initially we bolted the door from inside but they urged us to vacate the train and run away from here. We found refuge in the gurdwara,” they maintained.

However, at the gurdwara the passengers were all praise for the selfless help by the gurdwara management and villagers. “They are attending us like their own family members. We were offered drinking water, tea and langar,” said Naik Jung Bahadur Singh, who was going to his native village Samba.

Amritsar, May 25
Tension prevailed in the city as followers of Dera Sachkhand went on the rampage and the police had a tough time to control them. The police fired in the air, lobbed tear gas shells and resorted to lathicharge to disperse the agitators. All shops, commercial establishments, schools and other institutes remained closed today. All the schools and educational institutes would remain closed tomorrow.

Thousands of passengers were stranded at the railway station as departure of all the trains was cancelled, while no train arrived due to tense conditions in the region. They faced untold difficulties as eating outlets were closed outside the station. Later, the SGPC arranged langar at the railway station.

A mob armed with rods, wooden sticks and sharp-edged weapons passed through various areas causing people to remain indoors. A majority of the roads wore a deserted look.

The most affected areas included the bus stand and Hall Gate.

Several groups from different parts gathered in Sultanwind area and marched towards Bhandari Bridge from where they entered Hall Gate area and went on the rampage. The agitators included women who pelted stones on police parties. Youths entered the bus stand and damaged parked buses and tried to set one of the buses on fire. Earlier, the police failed to stop the protesters from gathering outside Hall Gate in the morning.

As the protesters grew in strength, the police opened fire in the area, lobbed tear gas shells and resorted to a lathicharge to disperse them.

Meanwhile, Guru Nanak Dev University has postponed its annual and semester (theory) examinations scheduled to be held on May 26- 27. Gurnam Singh, in charge (examinations), said all the examinations to be held on these dates at the teaching departments on the university Campus, Amritsar, Regional campuses at Jalandhar and Gurdaspur, constituent colleges and colleges affiliated to the university had been postponed. DC Kahan Singh Pannu said the administration and the police were on their toes since morning, claiming that everything was under control.

However, he refuted that the police had to open fire to disperse the agitators.

Parmod Bharti adds from Nawanshahr: The killing of Sant Ramanand sparked off violent protests here on Monday as demonstrators went on the rampage setting the Municipal Council’s office on fire, ransacking the bus stand, besides causing damage to property in the district.

The police resorted to a mild lathicharge in some places to control the mob. In view of the tense situation, the administration had already announced a holiday in the educational institutions. The irate devotees forced the shopkeepers to close their units.

Brandishing swords and lathis, they attacked the local court complex where they ransacked the canteen, destroyed some scooters, motorcycles and furniture. Another group, which had gathered at Chandigarh Chowk, became agitated as the MC failed to send a water tank for the protesters despite assurances, set the office of the MC on fire. Though the ADC and the SSP visited the dharna site to receive the memorandum from the protesters, the agitators resorted to violent measures. The police again had to resort to lathicharge at the bus stand.

The protesters ransacked the MC office, civil and veterinary dispensaries at Rahon. The police had to resort to fire in the air to disperse the protesters.

A Punjab Roadways bus was set on fire near Mehli village on the Nawanshahr-Jalandhar road. The incidents of protests were also reported from Banga and Balachaur.

DC Gurkirat Kirpal Singh and SSP Rakesh Aggarwal visited the town and adjoining places to take stock of the situation in the evening.

Holding the dilly-dallying approach of MC officials responsible for the ransacking of the office, MC vice-president Chet Ram Rattan announced his resignation from his post in protest.