PATIALA CLASH: KEY ACCUSED PARWANA AMONG SIX MORE HELD
A Patiala court has sent the Sikh preacher to four-day police remand; nine accused have been arrested in the case so far
PATIALA: Punjab police on Sunday arrested six people, including the key conspirator, in connection with the April 29 clash between two groups near the Kali Devi temple in Patiala in which four people were injured, officials said.
Patiala Range IG Mukhwinder Singh Chhina said: “Main accused Barjinder Singh Parwana has been arrested from Mohali.” A resident of Rajpura, Parwana is accused of provoking people to move towards the Kali Devi Temple on Friday. Later, Parwana was sent to a four-day police remand by a court.
PATIALA : Police on Sunday arrested the main conspirator, Barjinder Singh Parwana, and five others in connection with the clash between two groups near the Kali Devi Temple in Patiala that left four people injured on April 29.
Two groups had clashed on Friday over an anti-khalistan march, hurling stones at each other and brandishing swords, forcing police to fire in the air to bring the situation under control. With the arrest of six more people, the number of accused who had been nabbed so far reached nine, said the police.
Addressing a press conference, inspector general of police (Patiala range) Mukhwinder Singh Chhina said: “Main accused Barjinder Singh Parwana has been arrested from Mohali.” Parwana, 38, was presented before a court and was sent to 4-day police remand.
A resident of Rajpura in the district, Parwana is one of the masterminds of Friday’s incident, according to the police. He had been accused of provoking the Sikh radicals to move towards the Kali Devi Temple on Friday. He said that Parwana is already facing the four FIRS.
Parwana, a graduate, is known for making provocative speeches on the social media. He went to Singapore in 2007-08 and returned after staying there for 18 months. He set up his own Sikh seminary ‘Damdami Taksal Rajpura’. He had also participated in the farmers’ protest against the three central farm laws.
Besides Parwana, Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) district president Shankar Bhardwaj and Ashwani Kumar Gaggi Pandit, who had put up provocative posts on the social media, were also arrested. The other persons named in the FIR are Shivdev, a resident of Bal Sikander village in Fatehgarh Sahib, Davinder Singh of Jind, Haryana, and Rajinder Singh of Samana.
The IG said so far, 24 accused has been indentified and 20 police teams are on toes to nab them. He said on the directions of the chief minister, he is personally monitoring the probe and the police will submit the challan in a record time to seek exemplary punishment for antisocial elements.
He said a strict legal action would be taken against those who spread violence and indulge in hate speech on the social media. He also appealed to the media, especially electronic and social media handlers, to verify any news that disturbs law and order and peace before sharing it.
Meanwhile, a large posse of policemen remained deployed near the Kali Devi Temple on Sunday.
Patiala deputy commissioner Sakshi Sawhney appealed to people not to share any objectionable videos or messages on social media which could lead to unrest in society and create conflict between communities. She said information about such posts should be reported through direct message on the Twitter handle @Dcpatialapb and Whatsapp number for taking suitable legal action in the matter. Sawhney further said peace committee meetings were being held in all the subdivisions of the district.