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Tension in Sirsa after Dera-Sikh clashes

CHANDIGARH: There is palpable tension in Sirsa and Mandi Dabwali in Sirsa district following outbreak of clashes between followers of the Sirsa-based Dera Saccha Sauda sect and the Sikh community which left one person dead and 30 injured in Dabwali on Friday morning. Some shops were also set ablaze.

Curfew has been imposed and Rapid Action Force deployed to bring the situation under control. Senior police officers have rushed to the spot.

According to reports reaching the State headquarters here, trouble broke out in the morning when some Sikhs clashed with Dera supporters who were conducting their “naamcharcha” (morning prayers) in Dabwali on the Haryana-Punjab border. The district administration was reportedly in the dark about the holding of the morning prayers by the Dera.

Sirsa Deputy Commissioner V. Umashankar told the media that a young Sikh identified as Mandar Singh reportedly fell down and was killed in heavy brick-batting.

He said he too had received minor injuries while he was trying to appeal for calm. Both sides were reportedly carrying arms and sticks.

Soon thereafter, mobs went on the rampage and damaged at least 15 shops in the Mandi and set ablaze two shops and several vehicles.

According to senior police officers here, two companies of the Rapid Action Force have been deployed at Sirsa and Dabwali to prevent any further escalation of the violence.

Unconfirmed reports said that an angry mob also burnt a few shops in Sirsa. They added that a case had been registered in connection with the violence.

The tension accelerated after some Sikh leaders from Punjab reached Dabwali. There were reports that some Sikh activists had even blocked the Sirsa-Bathinda road.

Meanwhile, the chief spokesman of Dera Aditya Insaan told the media that the attack on the followers who were holding their regular prayer peacefully was ``unprovoked.”

The Haryana unit of the CPI (M) and the Indian National Lok Dal have expressed grave concern over the violent incidents. CPI (M) state secretary Inderjit Singh said such senseless violence should be stopped immediately and communal harmony should be maintained at all costs.

He said the tension between the followers of the Dera and Sikhs prevailing since past few months should not have escalated in clashes. He has also demanded better vigilance by the administration to ensure that no one becomes a threat to “social amity”.

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Tension in Sirsa after Dera-Sikh clashes

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