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Vienna Backlash
Varsities defer exams
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Pak bus passengers stranded in Ludhiana
‘Need for healing touch’
Dera Sachkhand appeals for peace
Bypoll: PPCC for more central forces
Passengers stranded as bus services hit
Army deploys 13 columns in state
‘Convene special session of Vidhan Sabha’
BJP seeks aid for victims
Nurmahal bypoll may be postponed
Man enters Golden Temple with meat
Four feared drowned as boat capsizes at Harike
High Court
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Vienna Backlash
Jalandhar, May 25 Confirming 86 incidents of violence, Director-General of Police KK Attri said one person had been killed and nine sustained injuries as the police and the Army resorted to firing in the Chugitti, Lambra, Jalandhar Cantonment areas and in Phillaur. The DGP said 40 companies had been deployed in troubled places across the state, besides 14 companies of the paramilitary forces. The Punjab police had also demanded 11 additional companies from the Centre. The situation deteriorated after the death of religious leader Sant Ramanand at a hospital in Austria’s capital Vienna. The Jammu-Kanyakumari Himsagar Express was set on fire after the passengers were asked to get off at the Dhakoha level crossing. Interestingly, the protesters even organised a langar in the village for the passengers. The protesters also set afire the engine of the Sonepur Jammu 2491 Up Express at Phagwara. The Bolina Doaba railway station also witnessed arson. In an Army firing, Telu Ram of Senpur village, near Lambra, was killed on the spot while four others sustained bullet injuries. They are all from Lambra. The protesters reportedly attacked a convoy of IG (zonal) Sanjeev Kalra and set afire the vehicle of SP (City-II) Sarabjeet Singh in the village. Securitymen guarding Kalra had to fire 20 rounds to protect the officer. Kapurthala DC Rajkamal Chaudhary escaped unhurt in an attack by the protesters near Kartarpur. Harjinder, a resident of Ramgarh, was killed in Phillaur when Punjab police commandoes opened fire at the mob that attacked a police party. Three others, who sustained critical bullet injuries, have been hospitalised. In another firing incident, Balkar Singh of Dasuya and Anil Saini of Pathankot sustained bullet injuries. The police opened fire on the mob as it tried to set a Jalandhar-Pathankot passenger train afire in Suchi Pind along the Jalandhar-Amritsar highway in the morning. The mob torched the Maqsudan police station besides putting several vehicles parked in the premises on blaze. The police had to resort to lathicharge to disperse the agitators. Incidents of arson were also reported from the Bhogpur, Adampur, Nakodar Chowk, Lambra, Bootan Mandi, Rama Mandi and Jalandhar cantonment areas. Commercial establishments, including showrooms of Hyundai Motors, were ransacked in and around the city. Vehicular traffic on highways and rail lines in the state remained suspended with hundreds of passengers getting stranded. An hour relaxation in curfew from 5 pm to 6 pm was of a great relief to them. Hoshiarpur
Followers of the Dera Sachkhand sect along with activists of various Dalit organisations held protests in the district today. Curfew was clamped on the district by District Magistrate NK Wadhawan following stray clashes among followers of the Dera Sachkhand sect and various Dalit organisations and the police. The DM first imposed curfew in the city at 11.10 am, but after reviewing the situation extended it throughout the district. The followers of the sect and various Dalit organisations, led by their leaders, assembled at the Guru Ravi Dass temple near the Civil Hospital in the morning and later many activists marched towards the Phagwara chowk, brandishing swords, spears and lathis. At the Gopal temple on the Jalandhar road they were lathicharged when certain activists pelted the police with stones and bricks. Around six passers-by suffered injuries. Stray clashes among the rampaging mob and the police were also reported from at the Phagwara cowk, Civil Hospital, Pur Hiran and Old Radha Swami Satsang Ghar. All business shops remained closed as the protesters smashed windowpanes of 20 buses at bus stand and its vicinity. They also broke windowpanes of a restaurant and torched a Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation bus and a private transport bus at the bus stand.
Ludhiana
The security guard of a lawyer was killed while two lawyers suffered serious injuries in the ongoing violence over the killing of Sant Ramanand in Vienna. More than 50 persons were wounded following a rampage by supporters of Dera Sachkhand. The administration imposed curfew on Ludhiana in the afternoon as the agitators damaged 40 vehicles and burnt a bus. The protesters from Phillaur damaged all 12 counters and computers of the toll tax barrier on the Sutlej bridge. A mob, including teenagers and women, carrying iron rods, sticks and stones targeted a petrol station near the railway station, apart from a restaurant and jewellery shop on Mall Road. The police had to throw tear gas shells and fire in the air to disperse a mob at Basti Jodhewal here this evening.
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Varsities defer exams
Amritsar, May 25 Dr Gurnam Singh, in charge of examinations, said all examinations to be held on these dates at all teaching departments of the university campus, Amritsar, regional campuses at Jalandhar and Gurdaspur, constituent colleges and colleges affiliated to the university had been postponed. Jalandhar: Punjab Technical University (PTU) has also postponed its examination scheduled for the same dates. Registrar Sarojini Gautam Sharda said any further change in the schedule would be communicated to students on Tuesday on website www.ptu.ac.in. “If the situation normalises tomorrow, we will conduct the examination as per the datesheet from May 28 onwards.” It is for the third time that the PTU authorities have postponed the papers. The exams that were to begin on May 8 were put off for May 18 and then for May 26. The PTU authorities hinted that the CET result which was to be declared on Tuesday might be put off for a day or two. Meanwhile, Punjabi University, Patiala, has postponed its exams to be held on May 26 and 27. Panjab University, Chandigarh, postponed its examinations scheduled for May 26, 27 and 28. It would announce new dates on the university website.
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Pak bus passengers stranded in Ludhiana
Ludhiana, May 25 Nearly 50 passengers, who boarded the Delhi Transport Undertaking bus from New Delhi in the morning today to reach Lahore, had to wait at Sadar police station for three hours before finally given shelter at the Circuit House by the administration here. After crossing Shambhu Border, the bus was brought here by the police at 10.30 am. Since the agitators did not seem to relent and a curfew had to be imposed, the administration did not allow the bus to move ahead and halted it in the city as a precautionary measure. A large number of vehicles, including a train, were reportedly torched in Jalandhar by protesters. Jails Minister Hira Singh Gabria organised lunch for the citizens of the neighbouring country and assured them that they would reach their destinations safely and till then they were guests here. “We have seen violence in Pakistan. We never knew a similar problem ailed our neighbouring country also. We hope we reach home safe and sound,” said Abdul Farooq of Gujjranwala in Pakistan. Asmat, a Pak woman, who had come to India to get his nine-year-old son treated from Escorts Hospital, said they really had a tough time. They were made to sit in the bus for three hours before being taken to Circuit House. A resident of UP, who was going to Pakistan after receiving the news of her mother’s death, said she wanted to go back home early, but the agitation was leaving her all more grief- stricken. “I do not know when will I reach?” said Firoza, who was accompanied by her two children. The Pakistan-India bus from Lahore to New Delhi was also stopped at Maina village near Jagraon. SSP Rural, GS Bhullar said they had made arrangements at a hotel for the bus passengers. They would be allowed to leave for Delhi as soon as peace was restored, he added.
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‘Need for healing touch’
Chandigarh, May 25 The academicians, who have been observing the phenomenon, while claiming that it is here to stay, maintain that the situation is serious and feel there is a need to provide a healing touch to strained relations between the ‘deras’ and mainstream Sikhism. Dr Ronki Ram of Panjab University, who is behind the recent research work, “Guru Ravidas Deras and Social Protest”, feels the violence in the Doaba belt as well as in other parts of the state is a result of ‘Dalit anguish’. Talking to The Tribune, he said it seemed the Dalits had not got “due respect” in gurdwaras due to which they had turned to deras all over the state. He said coupled with this was the increasing assertiveness in the community, which was demanding an equal share in the social structure. Dr Ram said as far the Dera Sachkhand was concerned, it had a predominantly Dalit following. “Since a large number of Dalits from the Doaba belt are now settled abroad, there are Guru Ravidas gurdwaras in many countries and the violent incident which occurred in Vienna also happened at a Ravidas gurdwara”, he said. The scholar said the dichotomy, which had arisen, was that while Ravidas followers worshipped Guru Granth Sahib because the ‘bani’ of their guru was contained in it, they also believed in human guruship and idol worship, which had become a cause of friction. Dr Rajiv Lochan of Panjab University, who has researched the emergence of Baba Piara Singh Bhaniarawala earlier, says: “It seems some social groups in Punjab have had enough of being forced into the strait jacket of mainstream Sikhism such as is being defined by the SGPC since the 1990s.” Dr Lochan says this had resulted in the emergence of Bhaniarawala some years ago. On that occasion the lower castes had gone ahead to create a new religion for themselves but had to face upper caste wrath. He says at present the followers of Dera Sachkhand were much more powerful. Noted historian Dr JS Grewal says the Dera Sacha Sauda controversy had given rise to Dalit discontent, which was finding its way out in different ways. “I think the situation is very serious”, he said, adding that the government should have been more prepared keeping in view the earlier violence in the wake of the Sachha Sauda controversy.
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Dera Sachkhand appeals for peace
Ballan, May 25 The statement assumes significance since it will go a long way in soothing the frayed tempers of its followers who have been on the warpath following a murderous attack on patron Sant Niranjan Dass and his close aide Sant Ramanand. The latter died in the attack on the Ravidass Temple in Vienna yesterday. In the appeal, the Dera, while taking into account the irreparable loss to their community following the death of the Sant, has said some anti -social elements struck at their temple in which Sant Niranjan Dass was hurt while Ramanand succumbed to his injuries. There was a violent reaction to the incident by people, but the Dera appeals to all to maintain restraint and put an end to the disruptive activities across the state. Such actions were not in consonance of the tenets of the Dera. By issuing the statement the Dera hopes to end the wanton destruction of property that has brought the state to a standstill. There was a sense of despondency and shock among the followers of the Dera when this correspondent visited the place late this noon. Although angry youngsters were manning several makeshift nakas en route the village, a mention of paying obeisance at the Dera was enough to gain access. Partys’ meeting flays strict action
Meanwhile, the district authorities called for an all-party meeting to urge the parties to appeal to the people to maintain peace. The meeting also saw politicians trying to indulge in oneupmanship. The firm hand with which the authorities, especially the police, were dealing with the situation came in for flak. There was a demand of the release all those arrested in the past 24 hours.
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Bypoll: PPCC for more central forces
Chandigarh, May 25 In a letter to the commission, Tarlochan Singh, general secretary, PPCC, has alleged that the SAD-BJP combine has made the byelection a prestige issue and they are desperate to win the said seat and can go to any extent for victory. It is feared that the SAD will use all unfair means to intimidate, threaten and exert undue influence on the voters in favour of their candidate Rajwinder Kaur, stated the letter.
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Vienna Incident
Patiala, May 25 The followers of Dera Sachkhand, including a large number of women and children, blocked the Patiala highway and the traffic near the bus stand early in the morning and started pelting stones at buses and private vehicles. They even smashed glasses of few buses and cars. The mob ransacked around 12 shops near the bus stand, causing damage to public as well as private property. Though there was no major damage to any life, the situation was tense the entire day. All buses of the city were halted immediately and long-route buses were stopped mid-way to ensure safety. The police reached the spot and took the situation under control. Even after the police’s interference, the protestors did not let the bus service begin till late afternoon. The government authorities and local leaders across parties and communities appealed for peace. They asked the protestors to carry out peaceful demonstrations. The protestors said their aim was not to harm people, but to warn the government that if they would not take immediate action, it would have to bear the consequences. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said the matter was being persued through the MEA and the government would take every possible step to bring the culprits of Vienna incident to book. He also called for an all-party meeting to reslove the issue as early as possible. By the evening, the traffic flow became smooth but the shops were still close. City Deputy Commissioner Deepinder Singh, on being contacted, said the situation was under control and there was no further threat.
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Passengers stranded as bus services hit
Ropar, May 25 Not only private bus operators, but also the Punjab roadways played it safe by registering minimum traffic of buses on roads. Sources in the Punjab roadways said senior officials had directed to limit number of buses running towards Jalandhar, keeping in view safety of the passengers. “It is good that the roadways decided to keep off the road. Due to tensed situation, not many passengers were expected to be commuting today and the buses would have otherwise run almost empty. In a way, we have saved fuel and our manpower has got some rest,” said a driver of the roadways. Pilgrims, who had come to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Kesgarh Sahib in Anandpur Sahib, were left with no other option but to extend their stay at the gurdwara. Many pilgrims had come on the weekend and had plans to board the first bus back to their homes today. Amrit Kaur, Raj Kaur, Surinder Kaur and Chajju Ram had come from Hoshiarpur and were supposed to return today. However, they could not find any bus going towards Hoshiarpur. Similarly, one Ranbir Singh had come from Sunder Nagar in Himachal Pradesh and was bound for Jalandhar. He had to return back to Sunder Nagar without getting his work completed at Jalandhar. At Kharar bus stand, heavy rush was seen in private buses. The long route buses of Pepsu, Punjab roadways and CTU had suspended its operations. Many private buses were seen heavily loaded. Meanwhile, SSP Ropar Laxmi Kant Yadav said the entire force had been directed to remain on its toes. “We already have two additional companies of the IRB for security of Bhakra dam, which can be put to use during any problematic situation,” he said.
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Army deploys 13 columns in state
Chandigarh, May 25 Army sources said the MCO premises and equipment, including furniture, window panes and computer, were damaged in the melee last evening. The MCO is responsible for facilitating travel of military personnel by rail. The Army has deployed 13 columns in various parts of Punjab Army units were mobilised to provide aid to civil authorities following a request from the state government. An Army spokesperson said that Western Command had provided seven columns for Jalandhar, four for Phagwara and two for Hoshiarpur. The strength of a column varies from task to task, depending upon the requirement at hand. The columns deployed are from formations under Jalandhar-based 11 Corps. Except for one incident involving the police firing at protesters in Jalandhar, there were no reported incidents of direct confrontation or clashes between the Army and protesters or any case of injury involving military personnel. Wherever deployed, Army personnel were accompanied by local civilian administration and police officials, who provided the first front.
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‘Convene special session of Vidhan Sabha’
Ropar, May 25 “We should not allow this incident to hold the entire state to ransom. Already, the people of Punjab have been through tumultuous times of terrorism and they do not want any more riots to disturb them,” he said. He added that people from all sections of society should be taken into confidence before deciding a course of action in this regard.
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BJP seeks aid for victims
Chandigarh, May 25 Talking to The Tribune, Prof Bhandari said the BJP had requested the CM to ensure that the families of those who had died in violence be compensated for adequately along with the injured. “Other than this, we have requested the Chief Minister to compensate those who had suffered material loss due to the violence”, he said. He added the party was satisfied with the government’s handling of the situation. “This is a very sensitive matter and no one should try to gather political mileage out of it”, he said.
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Nurmahal bypoll may be postponed
Chandigarh, May 25 Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal disclosed here that the commission had asked the returning officer to submit a report on whether the ongoing violence in the area following a murderous attack on the head of the Dera Sach Khand would have an impact on the polls. He said the returning officer had submitted that it would not be possible to hold elections in the current situation. The returning officer in his report, mentioned that he did not have adequate security forces to conduct the poll and that the same to be postponed.
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Man enters Golden Temple with meat
Amritsar, May 25 Though he claimed that the person had been arrested, SSP, Amritsar, Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh refused to divulge any information in connection with the incident. Jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Gurbachan Singh, said a high-level inquiry into the “blasphemous” act had been ordered.
— PTI
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Four feared drowned as boat capsizes at Harike
Harike (Tarn Taran), May 25 Megh Raj, Deputy Commissioner, Ferozepur, has ordered a magisterial inquiry by SDM, Zira, TN Passi, who will submit the report within 15 days, said Janmeja Singh Sekhwan, Irrigation Minister, while talking to The Tribune. The DC said the inquiry officer would probe if the followers of the Dera Nanaksar had sought permission from the Department of Wildlife to use its motor boats. The other deceased have been identified as Harjinder Singh, alias Ladi, and Zorawar Singh. The tragedy struck when followers of Baba Sadhu Singh, Head of Nanaksar Gurdwara, who had died on May 15, went deep into the Harike barrage to immerse his ashes. Though the ashes are immersed on the bank of the river, yet the followers wanted to perform the last rites in the middle of the river where the ashes of Baba Isher Singh had been immersed. The followers of Baba boarded two boats and one of them was overcrowded. When the boats reached the middle of the river, one boat tilted due to imbalance. Around 10 persons were rescued and four were been feared drowned. However, the bodies of drowned persons could not be traced till late night. SSP, Ferozepur, Dinesh Pratap Singh said the devotees carrying ashes of the deceased Baba had boarded three boats to immerse the ashes at the holy confluence of the Sutlej and the Beas at Harike. When one of the boats carrying 13 persons capsized, occupants of the accompanying boats saved many persons by throwing in their turbans.
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High Court
Chandigarh, May 25 Police to pass speaking order
Following the intervention of the high court to check miscarriage of justice through multiple inquiries, the Punjab police has amended earlier instructions, making it mandatory for a senior officer to pass a speaking order when a change of inquiry officer is proposed. As the matter came up before Justice Rajan Gupta, Punjab’s AA-G NK Sanghi said: It has been decided to amend the instructions dated March 27; and the same have been superseded by instructions dated May 24, according to which when a change of inquiry officer is proposed, a speaking order is to be passed by the senior officer concerned as specified therein.
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