Schools, colleges in Haryana, parts of Punjab closed today

CHANDIGARH In view of the prevailing tension, schools and colleges in Haryana and parts of Punjab will remain closed on Monday, senior officials said.

However, in Union Territory Chandigarh, the joint capital of the two states, schools and colleges will function normally.

“All educational institutions, including government and private schools, colleges and other institutions in the entire state, will remain closed on Monday,” Haryana’s additional chief secretary (home) Ram Niwas said in an official release.

Haryana is on a high alert after violence in Panchkula and Sirsa on Friday left 38 people dead and over 250 injured following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case. The quantum of sentence in the case will be pronounced in Rohtak on Monday.

As a precautionary measure, the Punjab government also ordered closure of all educational

institutions, including government and private schools and colleges, besides technical institutions, in the 13 sensitive Malwa belt districts —Muktsar, Bathinda, Barnala, Mansa, Sangrur, Patiala, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Moga, Faridkot, Ludhiana, Mohali and Fatehgarh Sahib.

PROHIBITORY ORDERS IN FATEHABAD

The Fatehabad administration in Haryana imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in the district, prohibiting assembly of five or more persons and carrying of firearms and other weapons, till September 18. The administration has also warned people not to gather in Dera Sacha Sauda centres in the district in violation of Section 144, as doing so will result in their arrest and sealing of the centre concerned.

SECURITY UP IN KAITHAL The Kaithal district administration has put in place stringent security measures to maintain law and order in the district, including deployment of 36 duty magistrates, along with videographers and police officers. Section 144 has also been imposed.

SEC 144 IN AMBALA

District magistrate Sharandeep Kaur Brar said Section 144 was in force in the district since August 21 and will remain in force till further orders. Police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in rural and urban areas, and police personnel, along with officers of the district administration, were visiting all areas. Besides, police forces have been deployed at all dera centres.