Punjab flounders, but pats its back
CHANDIGARH: Even as there were widespread incidents of violence and arson across Malwa in the wake of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s conviction by a CBI court in Panchkula on Friday followed by curfew in eight districts, the Punjab government continued to pat its back claiming the state was peaceful.
Despite having circulated information to their ground staff in advance that the dera followers were stocking petrol and kerosene to use as petrol bombs to indulge in violence, the Punjab Police failed to stop premis from damaging public properties.
On the other hand, the government claimed success citing “no major violence” in the state, comparing the situation with the neighbouring Haryana where lakhs of followers gathered in Panchkula and the dera headquarters in Sirsa.
“But in Punjab, we should not forget that there was no such pile-up of followers as was the case in Panchkula and Sirsa. As per intelligence reports, many dera followers from Punjab had already gone to Panchkula and Sirsa much before the verdict was pronounced. The dera followers still managed to ransack and destroy public properties,” said a former Punjab director general of police (DGP).
As per reports, dera followers set ablaze at least 10 vehicles, six petrol pumps and six telephone exchanges by throwing petrol bombs, damaged eight power grids, ransacked 20 sewa kendras. This happened even as unprecedented preparations were in place with more than 50,000 security forces personnel standing guard. Govt compares situation with Haryana where Panchkula and Sirsa saw fatalities
What is more disquieting is the fact that at least 35% of the followers who gathered in Panchkula were from Punjab and the state failed to check their movement to the neighbouring state. “Dera followers boarded buses or private vehicles to enter Panchkula via Punjab. Neither could the Punjab police check their movement nor did they alert us on this,” said a senior Haryana police official.
At a press conference in Chandigarh on Saturday, Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh said, “How can one identify people travelling in buses or cars as dera followers? Their vehicles did not have dera stickers. The Haryana government also did not share any information with us.” DGP Suresh Arora termed incidents of violence in Punjab as minor.
Amarinder will visit Bathinda, Mansa and Maur on Sunday to congratulate the forces on the ground. He also called up deputy commissioners (DCs) and senior superintendents of police (SSPs) of sensitive districts praising them for doing a good job.
CURFEW MAY STAY
Though there was no major incident of violence in the last 24 hours in Punjab, curfew imposed in at least eight districts of Malwa region and mobile internet ban is likely to continue till Tuesday with the state government in no mood to take any chance in the wake of the pronouncement of the quantum of sentence to the dera chief on Monday.
“We do not rule out chances of violence in the districts dominated by dera followers and that is the reason we imposed curfew. The curfew or ban may continue for more days keeping in view the Monday sentence. Since some followers from Punjab also died in Panchkula, we want their cremation to be done without taking any risk,” DGP (intelligence) Dinkar Gupta said. He said the government may continue with curfew since the dera followers, who gathered in Panchkula, arrive safely in their places.
At a review meeting on security, the CM, accompanied by health minister Brahm Mohindra, state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar, DGP Suresh Arora, DGP (law and order) Dinkar Gupta and chief principal secretary Suresh Kumar, said the state government was reviewing the situation in different districts from time to time and curfew imposed in different districts is being relaxed so that people can buy their daily stuff.
While the curfew would continue in Patiala, Mansa, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Fazilka, it was lifted in Sangrur, Faridkot and Muktsar as the situation limped back to normal there. “There has not been a single incident of violence since Friday night. Curfew will be imposed in new areas as well if the situation arises on Monday (the day of sentence announcement),” said Amarinder. About trains and bus services in Punjab, the CM said it would depend on how soon Haryana is able to control the situation since the vehicles had to pass through the neighbouring state. Punjab had no objection to restoration of buses and trains, he said.
7 VICTIMS FROM PUNJAB
The state has also received a list of seven people from Punjab who died in Panchkula violence. The government has also got information from Haryana that 45 of a total of 250 people injured in the violence are from Punjab.
The CM claimed to have directed officials to make a list of properties damaged in violence and his government would submit it to the high court, which has directed that the cost of damage be recovered from the dera.