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Curfew for second day in Punjab town

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

Published: Feb 21, 2010

BATALA, India: An indefinite curfew continued in this Punjab town for the second day, following incidents of violence after the publication of a poster depicting Jesus Christ in an objectionable manner, police said Sunday.

However, senior police officials said the situation was under control.

“We have not lifted the curfew so far because we do not want to take any chances. Overall situation is under our control but there are places where the condition is still tense,” said Preet Singh Sahota, inspector general of police (border range) in Batala, around 250 km from state capital Chandigarh.

He added: “Over 2,000 cops are deployed to keep a vigil against anti-social elements in this town. Police teams are patrolling the area regularly and we have made all arrangements for the safety of the common man.”

Curfew was imposed Saturday after tension prevailed following the publication of the objectionable poster, which depicted Jesus Christ holding a beer can in one hand and what appeared to be either a cigarette or a chicken leg in the other.

Clashes broke out in the town Saturday as some members of the Christian community forced shopkeepers to down shutters.

Police sources said nearly a dozen people, including a journalist of a Punjabi daily, were rounded up Sunday as they had violated the regulations of the curfew.

There were reports that some members of the Christian community again forced the shopkeepers in Tiber village to down shutters, but the situation was brought under control after the intervention of the police.

Batala, 40 km from Amritsar, has a sizeable Christian population and several leading schools and other institutions run by the community for the past several decades.

Police had also sealed the printing press in Jalandhar, where the controversial poster was printed.

Churches attacked as trouble brews over Jesus picture row

in.christiantoday.com

By: John Malhotra

Monday, 22 February 2010

Two churches were burnt and members of the Christian community attacked after tension erupted Saturday over the publication of a poster depicting Jesus Christ in an offensive manner in Batala, Punjab.

Police said trouble began after some Christian youths were protesting against an objectionable picture of Jesus holding a beer can and a cigarette in some newspapers.

« In most of the places the protest was peaceful but in Batala Town of Gurdaspur the situation took turn for the worst, when some youth demanded the downing of the shutters in Hindu dominated market, » Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) reported.

« Resistance on the part of these shopkeepers led to clashes between the two communities. The violence gradually spread to the entire city when Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena came out on the roads with weapons and indulged in arson, looting and violence, » it added.

Two churches – Church of North in India and Salvation Army Church – were reportedly vandalized and « the priests in charge of these churches were brutally thrashed and their houses ransacked. »

Following the vandalism, an indefinite curfew was clamped in Batala and additional forces were deployed in sensitive areas. Over 2,000 cops were deployed to keep a vigil.

Meanwhile, the printing press where the controversial poster was printed has been sealed and the owner arrested.

« Culprits behind the blasphemous act of showing disrespect to the image of Lord Jesus have been arrested by the special team of Punjab police, » IANS quoted state Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, as saying.

He added: « We appeal to the people of Punjab to maintain peace and harmony in the state. A special security group is interrogating the culprits and they would investigate their motive behind this act. »

According to sources, the offensive poster was first displayed on a Ram Navmi hoarding in Jalandhar where a religious procession was to be taken out. While portraying all deities, the poster depicted Jesus with a cigarette and a beer can.

Prior to this, in the state of Meghalaya, resentment was already sparked among Christians after a similar image was seen in a primary school textbook.

The New Delhi-based Skyline Publications that published the textbook was subsequently banned in all Catholic schools and a case registered against the publisher.

The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) condemned the act and demanded the publisher to offer an unconditional apology for “hurting the sentiments of Christians in the country.”

Radical Hindu Groups burn down Christian Church in Punjab

sikhsangat.org

February 21st, 2010

Batala, Gurdaspur: An indefinite curfew is in place in this industrial town of Gurdaspur district when radical Hindu groups burnt down a church after mob torched six motorcycles during a bandh called by Christian organisations to protest the putting up of objectionable posters of Jesus Christ in Jalandhar recently. At least six people were injured and several shops, including Vishal Mega Mart, were looted in Batala, 29 km from Gurdaspur. A post of the Railway Protection Force, the railway station building, a Salvation Church at Dera Baba Nanak and a local school were also ransacked by hooligans.

Trigger to Tension

The Ram Navmi Utsav Committee, a Jalandhar based socio religious body, put up hoardings and posters about a religious procession to be taken out in Jalandhar ont he occasion of Ram Navmi in March. The posters carried photos of deities since it was planned to be a an all religion march. Jesus Christ was shown with a cigarette in his hand. The Christian community in Jalandhar held a protest against the putting up of the posters on Thursday. The Jalandhar police registered a case against unidentified persons for hurting religious sentiments. Tension escalated in toher parts of Punjab. The Christian community called a bandh in different towns of the state on Saturday.

Trouble began at about 10 am when a mob, armed with sharpedged weapons, started a protest march and forced shopkeepers to close down their shops. Though the shopkeepers did shut shop, the mob turned restive and started pelting billboards with stones and set six motorcycles parked in front on fire.

They ransacked and tried to set ablaze two shops on City Road. Some miscreants carrying plastic cans filled with kerosene looted cash at the railway counter and tried to torch the station.

They ransacked the Government Primary School at Krishna Nagar. The mob damaged cars, two-wheelers and a police jeep on G.T. Road. Fanatics of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena arranged a parallel protest march against Christians. A clash ensued with both sides throwing stones at each other. Seeing the growing strength of the radical hindu groups, the mob dispersed.

Now, the mob comprising radical Hindus tried to ransack a church on Dera Baba Nanak road but on seeing the police presence there headed for another church near Nehru Gate and set it ablaze.

Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Karamjit Singh Sra and Amritsar DIG (Border Range) T.P.S. Sidhu reached the spot and imposed curfew.

POLICE SLOW TO REACT Former Congress MLA Ashwani Sekri said the local police failed to control the situation in time. He appealed to members of both communities to maintain peace. The arson began at 10 am but none of the senior police officials, including SSP Lok Nath Angra and SP (Headquarters) turned up at the spot till 1.30 pm.

Meanwhile, the Jalandhar police have sealed `Bawa Ji Glow Sign’ shop, where the objectionable picture of Jesus Christ was placed on the hoarding.

The shop owner, Raju, is absconding. Police took the car belonging to one Pritpal Singh in possession after a search in the Cantt area. Singh had arranged for the hoarding to be made announcing the procession.

SP (City-I) S.K. Kalia said police teams were conducting raids to arrest the duo. He said police sealed the shop as Raju could not erase the original pictures saved in his computers.

Curfew in Batala after inter-community clashes

tribuneindia.com

Ravi Dhaliwal, Balraj Mahajan & Sushil Goyal
Tribune News Service

Batala/ Bathinda, February 20

Members of the Christian and Hindu communities clashed and vandalised public property here today over publication of a picture of Jesus Christ in an allegedly objectionable manner by a Delhi-based publisher and at a welcome gate erected for Ram Navmi celebrations at Jalandhar recently.

Indefinite curfew was clamped in Batala after the town’s oldest church was torched and some shops vandalised. Police said trouble erupted when some Christian youths forcibly started downing shutters of shops across town. Activists of Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Shiv Sena objected to the demand to close shops, following which groups of both communities went on a rampage and looted shops.

Six shops – including Vishal Mega Mart – were ransacked in the ensuing melee. A Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation bus and another private bus were stoned and its windowpanes shattered. The infuriated mob then went ahead to burn six scooters and motorcycles.

Hindu activists got together and proceeded towards City Road and set fire to one of the town’s oldest churches. A panicky district administration sent in fire tenders to douse the fire and clamped an indefinite curfew within Batala municipal limits.

At least 10 persons were injured in clashes in the busy Batala localities of Circle Road, Dera Road, Chakki Bazaar and Gandhi Chowk. A State Bank of India ATM at the railway station was also broken. Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Karamjit Singh Sra reached the spot in the afternoon and supervised operations with Batala SSP Dinesh Partap.

The situation in Dhariwal town, 12 km from Gurdaspur, was also tense. Christian youths armed with sticks could be seen riding motorcycles and threatening people with dire consequences if they opened their shops. Gurdaspur DSP Jasdeep Singh was monitoring the situation. Later in the evening, Gurdaspur SSP Lok Nath Angra also visited Dhariwal. Punjab Minorities Commission chairman Munawar Masih also addressed a press conference in Gurdaspur urging Christians to maintain peace.

In Bathinda, a large number of Christian men and women – led by the town’s Christian Welfare Association president Father George C. Masih – blocked road and rail traffic. Protesters stopped the Kisan Express at the Bathinda railway station for about an hour.

Later in the day, they marched through town from the Railway Colony Methodist Church to the Main Bus Stand Chowk raising slogans against the “erring” persons and seeking strict action. After reaching the bus stand chowk, they staged a dharna for about an hour paralysing traffic.

Agitators refused to lift the dharna till an officer from the administration came to accept a memorandum.

Christians, Hindus clash in Batala; curfew clamped

ptinews.com

20 02 2010

Batala (Punjab), Feb 20 (PTI) Members of Christian and Hindu communities clashed and indulged in vandalising public property here today over publication of a picture of Jesus Christ in an allegedly objectionable manner, prompting authorities to clamp an indefinite curfew.

Police said members of the Christian community took out a protest march through the town during which some of them turned violent and set afire six two-wheelers, damaged three buses, a shopping mall and around 50 shops in different areas.

They were protesting against the publication of a picture of Jesus Christ in a book by a Delhi-based publisher recently which was reproduced in some newspapers in the state.

Protestors belonging to Hindu community also took to the streets and tried to set on fire a church, police said adding, the damage to the place of worship was minimal as the fire brigade and the police reached the spot in time.

Informations

Batala is a municipal corporation in Gurdaspur district in the state of Punjab, India. It is located about 30 km from Gurdaspur, the headquarters of the district.

Batala is important place for Sikh devotees as Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, was married here to Sulakhni, the daughter of Mul Chand Chauna. Many temples and Gurdwaras related with the marriage of the Guru attract devotees from near and far. Every year celebrations are conducted on the anniversary of Guru Nanak’s marriage.

~ par Alain Bertho sur 24 février 2010.

Publié dans दंगा, émeutes, riots