capital Vienna in which 11 people were injured Sunday triggered
tension in Punjab, with curfew being imposed in this city and several
vehicles being torched here and elsewhere in the state.
Security was heightened in several parts of the state after protestors
here torched a truck and a State Bank of India ATM and damaged several
vehicles.
The protestors blocked roads and highways in and around Jalandhar and
nearby industrial town of Phagwara.
"Curfew has been imposed in Jalandhar city following violence. Road
and rail traffic has been affected," Jalandhar range inspector general
of police (IGP) Sanjiv Kalra said.
Train traffic through Jalandhar, including the New Delhi-Amritsar
Shatabdi train, was affected as protestors blocked rail tracks too.
The Punjab Police was out in substantial numbers here and in Phagwara,
Hoshiarpur, Patiala and Nakodar towns after some members of a Sikh
sect, Guru Ravi Dass Sabha, took to the streets protesting against the
Vienna incident. Trouble was brewing in these places late Sunday
evening, police officials on the spot said.
There was considerable tension at the 'Sachh Khand' Dera (sect)
headquarters following the Vienna incident.
"I am in a very serious situation. I cannot say anything at this
point," IGP Kalra had earlier told IANS.
Protestors were out on the streets in Jalandhar and blocked traffic on
several roads, including National Highway (NH) No.1 that passes
through Jalandhar. The police had to direct traffic through
alternative and village roads.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal condemned the Vienna incident and
urged people in Punjab to remain peaceful. He urged the central
government to take up the matter with the Austrian government so that
the guilty were punished.
In Vienna, at least 11 people were wounded, many severely, in an armed
attack involving rival Sikh groups in a gurudwara Sunday morning. The
incident took place during a sermon by two guest gurus from India.
According to reports, several bearded and turbaned men equipped with
at least one firearm stormed the shrine during sermon. During the
melee, members of the congregation pounced upon the attackers and
overpowered them, beating some severely.
