Protesters clash with police in Punjab, 2 dead, 100 injured
Chandigarh/Oct.14, 2015 – Incident of desecration of Guru Granth Sahib in Kotkapura took an ugly turn today when protesters clashed with police and two men died and over 100 got injured in the violence.
According to reports from Punjab, police opened fire at protesters at Behbal Kalan village on Wednesday, in which Kishan Singh, 45, of nearby Niami Wala village and Gurjit Singh, 20, of nearby Sarawan village were killed.
In Kotkapura town, 90 people, including several policemen, were injured in a clash between the police and protesters on Wednesday morning. Another incident of violent clash took place at village Buttar Kalan in Moga district between the police and protesters that left 19 people injured.
Around 100 pages of the ‘bir’ of Guru Granth Sahib were found scattered in a street near gurdwara at Bargari village, 15 km from Kotkapura, on Monday. These were allegedly torn off from a ‘bir’ that was stolen from the nearby Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in June.
Punjab police lathicharged and used water cannons to disperse the protesters, who had gathered at Kotkapura Chowk to protest against the sacrilege. The police were able to control the situation after the two-hour-long clash that left many injured, including Bathinda inspector general of police (IGP) Jitendra Jain.
The police have arrested some panthic leaders include Bhai Ranjit Singh Dhadriyan Wale, Bhai Amrik Singh Ajnala, Panth Preet Singh, Jaskaran Singh Kahan Singh Wala and members of the Parmeshar Dwar Trust, Nirvair Khalsa Jatha and Ek Noor Khalsa Fauj.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has condemned the sacrilege of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji at Bargari village in Faridkot district and ordered a judicial inquiry by a high court judge to probe the incident and its aftermath. He also assured people of the Punjab that exemplary punishment would be awarded to the perpetrators of the act.
Related posts:
5 gangsters nabbed following encounter in Bathinda village
Discretionary funds for SGPC members hiked by Rs2 lakh
Capt: Focus on education, health to root out drugs
Revenue loss on outdoor ads, firm loses contract