A day after violence broke out in several parts of north India, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday asserted that there was complete peace in the State and said his Government would not tolerate any violence and continue to be on vigil till the sentencing of Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim is over on Monday.
Talking to reporters here, he blamed the Haryana Government for allowing more than a lakh of Dera followers to gather in Panchkula, which he said was the main reason for the violence that claimed 31 lives and left over 250 others injured.
“I will not allow any violence by any sect in Punjab. We want peace, and as long as I am here there is no question of any violence. Hopefully there will be peace after the sentencing is over,” he said.
Though “everything is peaceful” in Punjab, Singh said: “We are not going to take anything lightly. All precautions are in place and will remain in place till sentencing is done. There was no firing or lathi-charge in Punjab.”
Giving a briefing on the overall situation in the State, the Chief Minister said the entire police force and civil administration was on the streets on Friday to maintain peace. “The Chief Secretary and others were on the road all the time. Everyone was on their toes,” he said.
The Chief Minister said of the 31 people dead, seven belonged to Punjab and they died in violence in Panchkula, while 42 from the state were injured. “By and large the state was free from violence except for a few incidents of glasses being shattered and furniture being damaged.”
There was an attempt at violence in Malout police station, but that was also checked. “The police has filed an FIR in the incident. Everyone was alert in Punjab and nowhere anything happened.”
Singh said police have searched 98 Deras, and axes and lathis were recovered and 39 cases have been registered in Punjab.
Asked about the handling of the situation by his Haryana counterpart Manohar lal Khattar, Singh said he would not like to make any personal comment about the Chief Minister. “It is for Khattar and his leadership to say. I am only interested in peace in my state. Neither Khattar talked to me nor did I talk to him.”
But he went on to add that he will repeat what he had said on Friday. “The mistake was made by allowing people to gather. Against 1.5 lakh people what can 200 policemen doIJ Naturally the result is violence and police did fire and people would be killed. I think they should have prevented people from gathering.”
Punjab government also decided to extend the ban on mobile data services in the state till Tuesday.
Capt Amarinder said curfew had been lifted in three districts of the state and relaxed in the other areas where it was imposed on Friday. “The DCs had been authorized to take any further decisions on enforcement of curfew in their respective districts, keeping in mind the situation on the ground,” he added.
Capt Amarinder said police officers had visited all the 98 Naam Sacha Ghars of the Dera in the state and recovered lathis, pipes and rods, axes and petrol bombs. Vowing not to let the law and order in the state to be disturbed at any cost, the Chief Minister said he would personally ensure peace as long as he is in charge.
The Chief Minister, who earlier held a review meeting with top administrative and police officials to assess the law and order situation, said 39 criminal cases had been registered against perpetrators of violence in the state. Around 52 minor incidents had been reported from the state, with no loss of life or extensive damage anywhere following the announcement of the verdict.
Reacting to Haryana’s charge that Punjab did not stop vehicles carrying Dera followers from reaching Panchkula, the Chief Minister said the Haryana government, at no point in time, approached the Punjab government on this issue.
Responding to another question, he said there had been no contact between him and the chief minister of Haryana though the Punjab DGP had been in regular touch with his counterpart there. All intelligence inputs received by the Punjab police had been shared with Haryana, he added.