NEW DELHI, April 29: A night curfew was clamped in Punjab’s Patiala on Friday evening as tension prevailed after police fired in the air while trying to avert a clash between members of the Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) and some pro-Khalistani Sikh activists and Nihangs outside the Kali Mata temple, police said.
Curfew has been imposed from 7 pm till 6 am Saturday to control the law and order situation in the area. Patiala range inspector general of police Rakesh Aggarwal said the situation was being brought under control. “The tension started following rumours that some of the protesters had been attacked.”
The Sena members were led by Harish Singla, who had called a march against pro-Khalistani elements. The Nihangs, who first gathered at Dukh Niwaran Sahib Gurdwara to counter the call given by Shiv Sena, marched towards the temple raising pro-Khalistan slogans as the police struggled to control them, officers added. A station house officer with the Patiala police allegedly sustained a minor hand injury while trying to stop the Nihangs from marching towards the temple, a police officer said.
The IG said the police were holding a flag march in the city and ten companies of police force from other districts had been requisitioned. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann called the incident “deeply unfortunate.” “I spoke with the DGP, peace has been restored in the area. We are closely monitoring the situation and will not let anyone create disturbance in the state. Punjab’s peace and harmony are of utmost importance,” Mann tweeted.
There were reports of stone-pelting by the Sikh activists as well as Hindu leaders present inside the temple, the gates of which were locked to prevent the Sikh protesters from entering, sources said.
As the police opened fire, some Nihangs were seen resisting in front of them. Patiala SSP Nanak Singh was at the spot at the time, but the Nihangs and Sikhs were unrelenting even as several rounds were fired in the air, the police said. “The police had to open fire in the air given the situation and the same was done after prior approval from the duty magistrate who was present at the spot,” the IG said.
“The present situation is under control and being continuously monitored. All measures are being taken to ensure peace and harmony,” Patiala District Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said in a statement. But the police sources also said the Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) took out the march without police permission.
“Visuals from Patiala are disturbing. I repeat, peace and harmony are most imperative in a sensitive border state like Punjab. This is not the place to carry out experiments. Earnestly appeal to the Punjab government to ensure law and order is maintained,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said.
The Sena had given a call to hold a protest march against pro-Khalistanis and raised slogans against Khalistan. A separate contingent of police force was deployed in heavy numbers at Arya Samaj, a kilometre away, where Sena members were holding the march, to prevent a direct face-off between the two sides. The Patiala Deputy Commissioner has convened a peace meeting of representatives from both groups on Saturday, officials said.
Within hours of the disturbances, the Shiv Sena’s Punjab unit expelled the leader who had given the call for anti-Khalistan march in Patiala. Yograj Sharma, state chief of the Sena, said in a press release that Harish Singla, who claims to be the working president of the Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray), had been expelled for “anti-party activities” after orders from party supremo Uddhav Thackeray, youth wing chief Aditya Thackeray and national secretary Anil Desai.
For his part, Singla said Sharma had “no right” to expel him. “As chief of the Sena in Punjab, he can only induct new members but cannot expel a senior leader like me,” he said.
Singla said in Punjab, the party was known as the Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) to differentiate it from over a dozen other factions.
Sharma, however, said Singla was the party’s state vice-president and not working president. “We had clarified to the Patiala police around 10 days ago that the Shiv Sena had nothing to do with the call given by Harish Singla and that it was Singla’s personal programme and not a party programme,” he added.
Singla said the anti-Khalistan protest march was announced around 15 days ago after Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of the banned outfit “Sikhs for Justice” gave a call to observe “Khalistan sthapna diwas (Khalistan foundation day) at district police offices in Haryana.” “If they can raise pro-Khalistani slogans at various events, why can’t we raise anti-Khalistani slogans? Thousands of Hindus were killed during the militancy in Punjab,” said Singla, adding that he had convened a meeting to chalk out the next course of action.
(Manas Dasgupta)
