As Punjab continued to simmer over the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib — the holy book of the Sikhs, Central forces were rushed to take bring the situation under control. A senior Home Ministry official said social media was used to spread rumours of desecration in the State and they had asked the State police to keep an eye on such messages.
The Home Ministry official said they would ask the Punjab government about the reported intelligence failure as tension had been building up in the State since June when a holy scripture was stolen from a gurudwara in Faridkot district.
Around 1,000 personnel were deployed in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bhatinda and Jalandhar to contain the violence.
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Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal held an emergency Cabinet meeting at his residence and took stock of the situation. The Cabinet adopted a resolution condemning the acts of sacrilege and described it as a “deep-rooted” conspiracy to disturb the hard-earned peace, brotherhood and communal harmony in the State.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Mr. Badal on Monday and offered all assistance to the State. Punjab goes to the polls in early 2017 and the incidents are being seen as attempts to derail peace in the State, a Punjab government official said.
The deployment of Central forces was prompted by another incident of sacrilege of the holy book at Gurusar Mehraj in Bathinda district. Central forces carried out flag marches in various parts of the State.
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Sikh activists continued to stage dharnas and took out protest marches in different cities, including Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur, throwing normal life out of gear.
In Tarn Taran, a man was caught and beaten up by agitated community members for allegedly trying to commit sacrilege at a gurdwara in Nagoke. The man identified as Malkit Singh (34) of village Bule Nangal was taken away by three youths who are not traceable.
World Kabbadi Cup cancelled
In view of the situation, the sixth edition of the World Kabaddi Cup scheduled to be held in the State from November 14 to 28 was cancelled.
(With PTI inputs)