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Punjab Border Village Reels Under Unrest Following Rumours of Guru Granth Sahib Desecration

Punjab: Rumours Of Guru Granth Sahib Desecration Push Another Village To Brink Of Violence
Indian Sikhs stand near a police barricade during a protest against Congress party leader and former chief minister of Punjab state Captain Amarinder Singh for his recent remarks on the countryâs 1984 anti-Sikh riots, in New Delhi, India, Monday, April 21, 2014. Singh in a recent television interview said party leader Jagdish Tytler, one of the accused, had no role in the 1984 riots that killed more than 3,000 Sikhs. Top Congress party leaders have been accused of inciting mobs during the violence that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)
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Indian Sikhs stand near a police barricade during a protest against Congress party leader and former chief minister of Punjab state Captain Amarinder Singh for his recent remarks on the countryâs 1984 anti-Sikh riots, in New Delhi, India, Monday, April 21, 2014. Singh in a recent television interview said party leader Jagdish Tytler, one of the accused, had no role in the 1984 riots that killed more than 3,000 Sikhs. Top Congress party leaders have been accused of inciting mobs during the violence that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal)

Ferozepur (Punjab) -- Tension gripped this border town of Punjab today after some unidentified miscreants allegedly tore off a few pages of the holy book Guru Granth Sahib in a village here, the second such incident witnessed in the state in the recent times.

The pages of the book were torn in Naju Shah Mishri village on Ferozepur-Zira road at around 3.30 pm, police said.

As soon as the news spread, a large number of people from surrounding villages gathered at the spot.

Some Sikh radicals, in a fit of rage, allegedly manhandled SGPC member Darshan Singh Sherkhan who had arrived at the scene and damaged his SUV.

Senior civil and police officers immediately rushed to the spot with heavy police contingent. Several rounds of interaction were held with the people who had gathered in large numbers and eventually the situation was brought under control.

However, the police said that the atmosphere continues to be 'tense' in the area.

D P S Kharbanda, Ferozepur DC, said the administration has appealed to the people to maintain peace and harmony, as the incident seemed to be the handiwork of some miscreants who wanted to foment trouble.

Meanwhile, the Sikh protestors under leadership of Baba Dilbag Singh continued to block the Ferozepur-Amritsar highway near Harike headworks due to which traffic on the busy road remained disrupted for nearly 48 hours.

Protests were also witnessed in Village Ferozshshah, Main Chowk in Zira, Village Sandhe Hasham and Village Khosa Dal Singh on Ferozepur-Zira road.

A similar incident had taken place in Faridkot district of Punjab, earlier this week. The Indian Express reported on 15 October: "Two people were killed in police firing Wednesday as protests over the alleged desecration of a Guru Granth Sahib spread to several villages in Fardikot. About 80 people were injured when police used teargas, lathicharge and fired in the air to disperse a dharna by Sikhs at Kotakpura chowk in Faridkot early Wednesday. Later in the day, police fired to disperse protesters in village Behbal Kalan, killing two men, Bittu Singh and Krishan Singh. A third man was admitted to hospital with bullet wounds."

(With inputs from PTI)

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