A clash broke out between Dera Sacha Sauda followers and villagers over a religious congregation on Tuesday forcing the police to fire in the air and use mild force to bring the situation under control.
The clash between Dera members and villagers, mainly consisting of radical Sikhs, took place just hours after five Dera followers were injured in an alleged attack by a mob armed with guns and sharp-edged weapons on Monday night.
Dera followers had reached grain market of Dhudike village to hold their scheduled ‘Naam Charcha’ congregation when a mob comprising over 200 people shouted slogans against them, which led to the clash with both groups pelting stones at each other, police said.
Police had to fire in the air and used mild cane charge to disperse the crowd. However, there were no reports of any person getting injured, Moga SSP Kamaljit Singh Dhillon said. “The situation has been brought under control and heavy police force has been deployed to prevent any untoward incident,” he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, who also holds the Home portfolio, told reporters in Chandigarh that the situation in Moga is “under control”. Describing the incident as “minor and localised”, Badal said that the government was committed to maintain the law and order at any cost and that he was monitoring the situation.
The villagers have also blocked traffic on Dhudike-Ajitwal road in protest against giving permission to Dera followers to hold ‘Naam Charcha’. They also protested the rounding up of three members of their group including village sarpanch Jasdeep Singh over Monday night's incident.
Five Dera Sacha Sauda members were injured on Monday night after a mob armed with guns and sharp edged weapons allegedly attacked Dera followers when they were making preparations for holding religious congregation, police said.