The situation was tense in Phagwara, Batala, Bhatinda and Moga as Dera supporters and members of Sikh groups staged protests against each other.
CHANDIGARH: Several towns and cities in Punjab remained tense on Wednesday as the Sikh community continued to demand an apology from the head of Dera Sacha Sauda sect Gurmit Ram Rahim for portraying himself on the lines of the revered 10th Sikh guru Gobind Singh.
Ten people were injured in Patiala as police baton-charged protesting Sikhs in Arya Samaj area this afternoon. Trouble began when Sikh youths organised a protest march and asked shopkeepers to close their outlets.
When some shopkeepers objected, Dera activists stepped in and started pelting stones, injuring two Sikhs. The Sikh youths became agitated and damaged a few two-wheelers and attacked shops. Police then carried out the baton-charge.
The situation was tense in Phagwara, Batala, Bhatinda and Moga as Dera supporters and members of Sikh groups like the Damdami Taksal, SGPC and SAD staged protests against each other.
There were also protests in Jammu and Kashmir by Sikhs who demanded the arrest of the Dera chief for his "sacrilegious act" that had hurt the sentiments of their
community. Sikhs organised rallies at Gandhinagar, R S Pura, Rehari, Satwari, Udhampur, Kathua, Rajouri, Baderwah and Ramban in Jammu division.
They also burnt the Dera chief's effigy while brandishing swords and sticks.
In Ludhiana, over 500 members of Sikh groups organised a peaceful rally against the Dera chief. Seeking strict action against the Dera head, they came out on the roads, brandishing swords and sticks, and shouted slogans against him.
The situation in Rajasthan's Srigangangar town, which witnessed clashes between Sikhs and Dera members, was today normal. Police yesterday arrested 27 people for the clashes there that left 30 injured.
Earlier in the day, about 1,000 Sikhs gathered at Gurdwara Dukhniwran Sahib in Patiala and marched towards Tripuri township. They carried swords and lathis, which were taken away by police who allowed them to undertake a peaceful march.
Police also provided security to shops owned by Dera followers. Patiala's Deputy Commissioner D S Grewal imposed prohibitory orders banning the assembly of five or more
persons and the taking out of processions in the outer areas and in the Walled City.
Grewal met leaders of various political parties and appealed to them to maintain peace and harmony in the city.
The Dera, which has its headquarters on the outskirts of Sirsa in Haryana, has been headed by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh since the early 1990s. It was was set up in the early 1950s by Shah Mastana, who reportedly hailed from Baluchistan.
The order came to the limelight with the murder of Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chatterpatti in 2003 after he allegedly exposed some wrongdoings in the Dera. A CBI probe was later launched into Chatterpati's killing.
Shah Mastana was initially a follower of the Radha Swami Dera in Beas, but later split from it to set up his own order. The followers of the Dera, which claims to work for the good of mankind, include people of different religions like Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam.
The tension between Dera followers and Sikhs continued on Wednesday though the Dera had yesterday ended its protests in Bhatinda against the burning of effigies of its chief by Sikh activists after authorities gave an assurance that they would take action in the matter.
A report from Bhatinda said shops remained partially closed there as the situation continued to be tense. Various Sikh groups held a meeting at Gurdwara Hazi Rattan and leaders addressed the masses in a provocative way, the reports said.
Police in large numbers were deployed in and around the area to prevent any untoward incident and vigil was being kept on the movements of Sikh leaders and the Dera's followers.
Shops around the Gurdwara were closed by traders and by police as a precautionary measure and PAP commandos were deployed at both gates of the Sikh shrine.
Sikh groups called for a "mass sacrifice" to check the emergence of Deras in Punjab and asked the community to be prepared to face any challenge as their religion was in
danger.
Those who addressed the gathering included Jathedar Balwant Singh Nandgarh of Damdama Sahib, SGPC member Bibi Devinder Kaur and Baba Harnam Singh Dhooma of the Damdami Taksal, which has given an ultimatum to the government to arrest the Dera chief by May 18.
The Dera followers said they were ready to face the Sikh organisations.
Police have halted the movement of vehicles coming into Patiala from all sides. Police teams were moving across the city and maintaining vigil at sensitive points.
A report from Rajpura said unidentified persons burnt a 'satsang' of the Dera.
The tension between Sikhs and Dera followers has its roots in the recent Punjab assembly polls, when the religious order's political wing extended support to Congress nominees to the disadvantage of the Shiromani Akali Dal.
Residents of Khajurala village and nearby areas burnt an effigy of Sant Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh and blocked vehicular traffic on National Highway No 1 (GT road) to protest the DEra chief's "imitation" of Guru Gobind Singh.
Led by former sarpanch Surinder Singh, the protesters, including a large number of women, sat on dharna on the GT road, blocking traffic to Phagwara and Jalandhar. SAD
stalwarts Jatinderpal Singh Palahi, Jasbir Singh Bhullarai and Harmandir Singh led the protest.
Representatives of various Sikh groups who attended a meeting at Gurdwara Singh Sabha in Moga demanded action against the Dera head. They also blocked traffic on a nearby road for about an hour.
Two gunny bags symbolising the Dera head were set on fire in Moga where the situation was tense, a report from the town said.
Over 200 activists of Sikh bodies in Kapurthala, wielding swords and lathis, organised a protest march in the town. They burnt effigies of the Dera head for allegedly indulging
in a blasphemous act and fanning communal tensions.
The activists attacked a cane crushing shop owned by a follower of Divya Jyoti Jagran Sansthan and damaged its wooden counters. The shopkeer escaped unhurt as he immediately closed the outlet.
The Sikh activists shouted slogans in favour of Khalistan and Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale. They also displayed posters of slain militant Bhai Fauja Singh of Babbar Khalsa.
Following the protests in Punjab, Haryana Police have sounded an alert at Sirsa where the Dera is based. Additional police forces have been deployed in the town.
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