A day-long radical Sikhs organisations sponsored Punjab bandh to protest the killing of a demonstrator in alleged police firing in Ludhiana evoked a mixed response on Monday.
Shops, commercial establishments and educational institutions, including schools, are completely closed in many parts of the state, officials said. The bandh is peaceful so far as no untoward incident was reported from any part of the state, officials said, adding the rail and road traffic was plying normally.
Reports of complete shut down of shops, schools and other commercial institutions have been received from Amritsar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ferozepur, Hoshiarpur, Phagwara, Patiala, Ludhiana and Jalandhar.
At some places like Jalandhar, Patiala, Faridkot, Bathinda and Batala members owing allegiance to various Sikh outfits, including Sikh Students Federation, forced several shop owners to pull down shutters of their establishments.
Police have detained an Akali Councillor Kanwaljit Singh Ghona and his five associates for allegedly adopting coercive tactics by asking shopkeepers to close down their shops.
In Jalandhar at Milap chowk, a minor scuffle broke out between police personnel and Sikhs who were forcing shop owners to close shutters of their establishments, officials said, adding that no one was injured in the milee.
Meanwhile in Ludhiana, the industrial hub of Punjab, curfew remained clamped to prevent any untoward incident.
Police also conducted a flag march in Ludhiana to instill confidence in the people of the city which faced violence for two successive days from last Friday.
Supporters of Sant Samaj and Damdami Taksal, considered to be hardliners, staged a protest march in Moga city. They also blocked the highway leading to Amritsar for about two hours and burnt effigies of Divya Jyoti Jagran Sansthan sect head Ashutosh Maharaj.
They also demanded that a criminal case should be registered against Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner and police chief for their alleged failure to contain law and order situation in the industrial town.
The security forces have taken all precautionary measures and are guarding strategic points, officials said, adding that patrolling had been intensified in the state.
The day-long Punjab bandh call has been given by radical Sikh organisations, including Damdami Taksal and Sant Samaj, to protest the killing of Darshan Singh at Ludhiana on Saturday after police and some Sikhs objecting to a religious congregation by Ashutosh Maharaj clashed.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said the situation was under total control. "The government is keeping a close tab on the situation and monitoring it closely," Badal told reporters outside the state assembly.
Badal rejected the demand of Congress seeking the President's rule in the state for alleged failure of law and order. He said Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal would make a statement on last week's violence in the assembly on Tuesday. PTI
