Taking serious note of the recent clashes in Patiala, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has asked the Punjab Government to furnish a detailed report.
NCM chairperson Iqbal Singh Lalpura said that the violent incidents were the handiwork of miscreants and anti-social elements who wanted to disturb the age-old religious harmony in the country. “The clash between members of the two religious groups in Patiala was not a communal clash, but mischief sought to be created by miscreants with ulterior motives on both sides,” said Lalpura.
Notably, a group of Shiv Sena activists and votaries of Khalistan had clashed in Patiala last week, leaving four injured. The local administration had to clamp down night curfew besides other restrictions to bring the city back to normalcy.
Lalpura, a former IPS officer from Punjab, stated that the violence in Patiala was a failure of the District Administration. He expressed concern that the two warring groups were allowed to come face-to-face when they were initially at a distance of three kilometres from each other.
He also wondered how the rioters from one group were able to take out the flags of Khalistan under the nose of the local authorities.
Lalpura said that he had spoken to the Punjab Chief Secretary, who had accepted failure at the authorities’ end in handling the situation. He attributed the police firing in Patiala during the violence to procedural impropriety.
Refusing to make any further comment, he said that a report from the Punjab Government is awaited.