A day after two Sikhs were killed in police firing in Kotkapura during protests over the desecration of a ‘bir’ of Guru Granth Sahib, tension continued in the area on Thursday as members of the community took to the streets on a call for bandh (shut-down) in the state.
There is complete bandh in Moga city. All national highways and major link roads have been blocked in the district.
In Muktsar, a large number of protesters have gathered on the Malout-Bathinda highway to ensure a block. There was also complete bandh in Gidderbaha town and Lambi village, while the closure was partial in Muktsar and Malout towns.
Most private buses were off the roads in Faridkot. Private schools were closed in Faridkot, Kotkapura and Jaitu, while there was thin attendance in government schools.
An incident of firing by Sikh activists was reported at Jogewala village, but no injury was reported.
In Ferozepur, hundreds of Sikh activists bearing swords and other weapons have blocked the Ferozepur-Moga highway, and most of the schools and commercial establishments were closed in the city.
The police were trying to take possession of the bodies the two Sikhs killed in police firing on Wednesday, for post-mortem. However, the families of the deceased are opposing it and have taken the bodies to their village.
There was a large gathering of sympathisers at Sarawan, the village of one the dead, Gurjit Singh.
Gurjit Singh's family is awaiting the return of his father and brother from Kenya for the cremation. A large number of residents of Jaitu and Bargari area villages are reaching Sarawan and Niamiwala to pay homage to deceased.
Sikh organisations also blocked the Jammu-Pathankot highway.
In Jalandhar, protesters jammed PAP Chowk, near which the Deputy Chief Minister's helicopter was scheduled to land. Dharnas were also reported at other intersections in the city.
Meanwhile, AAP MP Bhagwant Mann and state Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa also reached Kotkapura to extend support to the protesting Sikhs.
In Samrala, Sikh activists vandalised a shop when two of their men were allegedly injured in stone pelting by Sirsa followers. The activists had asked the shopkeepers to down shutters.
— With inputs from Faridkot, Moga, Ferozepur, Jalandhar
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Related article below: 2 Dead in Kotkapura Police Firing
Two Sikhs were killed and over 50 others injured in clashes with the police following the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib ‘bir’ at Kotkapura early this morning.
Among those injured was Inspector General of Police (Bathinda range) Jatinder Jain. The police resorted to canecharge, used water cannons and fired into the air to disperse more than 3,000 people who had assembled at an intersection in the heart of Kotkapura since Tuesday afternoon to protest the desecration. The action followed two hours of failed talks between the protesters and senior police officers that left more than 45 persons, including 24 policemen, injured.
Another clash took place at Behbal Kalan village on the Kotkapura-Bathinda road when protesters allegedly hurled stones at the police. Gurjit Singh (27) of Sarawan village and Kala Singh (54) of Niamiwala Khurd village in Faridkot were killed in police firing. Some protesters and policemen suffered injuries in the clash.
The injured were taken to the Faridkot medical college and Kotkapura civil hospital. One of the injured, Beant Singh, was admitted to the DMC, Ludhiana, with critical injuries. More than 10 vehicles, including five belonging to the police, were damaged in the clashes.
The police claimed they acted in self-defence and used minimal force as they came under attack while trying to clear the protest sites. The protesters were armed with sharp weapons, sticks and stones, said Faridkot Senior Superintendent of Police SS Mann. Several police vehicles were damaged by protesters, said Deputy Inspector General (Ferozepur range) Amar Singh Chahal. While the police confirmed they had arrested 34 protesters, reports said more than 100 persons, including Sikh leaders Panthpreet Singh and Ranjit Singh Dhadrian Wale, were rounded up.
Baljit Singh Daduwal, a Sikh leader, who was at the Kotkapura gurdwara when the crackdown began, alleged the police used brute force on peaceful protesters.
After the clashes, dharnas were organised at almost all roads leading to Kotkapura. A heavy contingent of police was deployed in Kotkapura to prevent further protests at the intersection. As a precautionary measure, police force from nine districts was deployed in the district.
In the evening, the police faced difficulty shifting the bodies to Faridkot medical college for post-mortem. The protesters were demanding the custody of the bodies.
While educational institutions in the area, including Kotkapura, Jaitu, Bajakhana and Bargari, were closed for the day, commercial establishments observed a shutdown in Kotkapura town.
Editor's note: The articles above has been edited.
Blessings to the families of the dead and healing to the injured. May our collective prayer build the place for our unity so that we may conquer all obstacles and realize our great destiny.