Communal clash in Hyderabad, 3 dead
HYDERABAD: Three persons were killed on Wednesday in police firing following communal clashes sparked by alleged burning of the Nishan Sahib (religious flag) at a gurdwara by some persons in Kishanbagh area of the Old City.
Police clamped indefinite curfew under Rajendranagar police station limits after the clashes, which left 17 people, including 10 police personnel, injured in heavy stone-pelting.
Reacting to the incident, Manjit Singh GK, presi- dent, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), said, “Tension erupted after the Nishan Sahib of a gurdwara was burnt. I am in touch with the police and local administration so that things don’t go out of control. A team of the DSGMC is leaving for Hyderabad to take stock of the situation.”
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar said, “The incident is condemnable and shocking as never before have clashes occurred between Sikhs and Muslims.”
Makkar added, “The SGPC will send a fact-finding team to Hyderabad to know what actually transpired. The gurdwara committee will also write to the union home minister and the state governor to ensure peaceful co-existence of both the communities.”
Trouble broke out after members of a community noticed that the flag was burnt at a flagpost in an open ground near a hillock, police said.
As the news spread, people assembled in large numbers and some youths entered the nearby Muslim-dominated locality and allegedly started attacking their houses and vehicles.
After some time, hundreds of members belonging to both communities gathered and pelted one another and some police personnel with stones. Some police personnel, who tried to stop them, suffered injuries, a senior police official said.
Police opened fire to bring the situation under control and in the process, at least three persons suffered bullet wounds and succumbed to injuries in the hospital.
TENSION ERUPTED AFTER THE NISHAN SAHIB OF A GURDWARA WAS BURNT. A TEAM OF THE DSGMC IS LEAVING FOR HYDERABAD TO TAKE STOCK OF THE SITUATION MANJIT SINGH GK, president, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee
“Around 1,000 members from both sides indulged in clashes. Curfew has been imposed indefinitely and section 144 of the CrPC clamped in Rajendranagar police station area under Cyberabad Commissionerate,” the official said. “The situation is tense but under control. The injured have been admitted to different hospitals,” he said.