Hindu organisations have given the call for a Patiala Bandh and are demanding the arrest of Khalistani supporters who had attacked Kali Mata Temple on Friday. According to reports, the situation is tense in Patiala after an armed Khalistani mob had attacked a Hindu temple and ran amok in the city by brandishing swords. In response to the attacks on the Hindu temple, the Hindu groups have called for a bandh.
In the wake of the bandh, the district officials have imposed an 11-hour curfew, besides snapping mobile internet services in Patiala. According to the government order, all mobile internet and SMS services will remain suspended between 9:30 am and 6:00 pm. The Punjab government has also removed Patiala Inspector General of Police Rakesh Agarwal from his post. The Punjab government also ordered the transfer of Patiala SSP and SP.
ਅੱਜ 30 ਅਪ੍ਰੈਲ ਨੂੰ ਸਵੇਰੇ 9:30 ਤੋਂ ਸ਼ਾਮ 6 ਵਜੇ ਤੱਕ ਮੋਬਾਈਲ ਇੰਟਰਨੈਟ ਸੇਵਾਵਾਂ ਸੀਮਤ ਕੀਤੀਆਂ, ਘਬਰਾਉਣ ਦੀ ਲੋੜ ਨਹੀਂ ਕੇਵਲ ਅਫਵਾਹਾਂ ਫੈਲਣ ਤੋਂ ਰੋਕਣ ਲਈ ਇਹਤਿਆਤ ਵਜੋਂ ਗ੍ਰਹਿ ਵਿਭਾਗ ਨੇ ਕੀਤਾ ਫੈਸਲਾ pic.twitter.com/F7VIPrbcMs
— DC Patiala (@DCPatialaPb) April 30, 2022
Earlier on Friday, Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) leader Harish Singla was arrested by the Punjab Police in connection with this violence. Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) is the Punjab unit of Shiv Sena, a regional party from Maharashtra. Harish Singla, who claims to be the working president of Sena’s Punjab unit, had said the party had launched an anti-Khalistan march that came under attack from pro-Khalistan sympathisers and supporters. Following the attacks, Shiv Sena expelled Harish Singla.
Amidst this, media reports claimed that certain Hindu organisations were angry against Singla, and a bandh had been called against him. However, Hindu organisations have now clarified that they are not against Singla but the Khalistan supporters and stated that the bandh had been called to condemn the acts of Khalistan supporters.
Speaking to OpIndia, Mahant Ravi Kumar Muni of Patiala’s Kali Mata Mandir said they are not against Singla, adding that the Shiv Sena leader could have carried out the protest against Khalistanis in a different manner. The Mahant said that the Khalistan supporters should not have attacked the Kali Mata temple.
“This bandh has been called to demand action against the elements who carried out attacks on the Kali temple,” said Mahant Ravi Kumar Muni.
Mahant Ravi Kumar Muni of Patiala’s Kali Mata Mandir said that the media reports suggesting that they are against Singla are not correct. Some people are only angry with Singla as his protest led to an attack on the temple otherwise, they see him as part of the Hindu community, the Mahant clarified.
“Harish Singla is from Patiala, he is one of our own. However, it is dangerous to blame the entire community for the actions of one person. Harish Singla was not right, but those who attacked the temple are also guilty. The temple did not speak about anybody, but why was the temple attacked?” Mahant Ravi expressed his disappointment with the attacks on the temple.
Rajesh Kehar, the President of Hindu Raksha Samiti, told OpIndia, “This bandh is not against Harish Singla, but because of the attack on the temple by Khalistan supporters. All Hindu organisations of Patiala have taken this decision together.”
Kehar also explained the series of events that resulted in the attacks on the temple. He said the protest march was taken out by Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) from Arya Samaj, however, the attack took place on Kali Mata temple, which is far away from where the anti-Khalistani march took place.
The Hindu leader said that the attacks on the temple were a well-planned conspiracy as all the attackers were called from outside. He added that more than 90 per cent of the attackers were not from Patiala.
Rajesh Kehar has also registered an FIR against the attacks in the Patiala police station. In his complaint, Kehar has said that the pro-Khalistani mob had assembled outside around noon on Friday, and a group of 40-50 attackers started raising slogans of Khalistan Zindabad outside the temple and pelted stones.
“I was in my office; I heard the slogans of Khalistan Zindabad. I ran outside, where I saw some Nihang Sikhs pelting stones and attacking the temple building and the Langar Bhawan. They had sticks and other weapons. They were raising anti-Hindu slogans,” Rajesh Kehar said to OpIndia.
In the complaint lodged, he further said, “I alerted the temple authorities and security and got the gates closed immediately. Within minutes the attackers attacked the temple building, causing some damage. They also attacked the temple shops located outside the temple gate. They damaged shops numbered 9 to 12 and stole about 25-30 thousand rupees from the shops. Police were also present at the spot and trying to stop the attackers.”
A video of the same has also surfaced on social media, which shows that the Khalistani mob had attacked the temple and looted shops as they brandished swords and sticks. The police officers can be seen trying to stop these attackers, however, the Khalistani Sikhs continue to attack the shops around the Kali temple.
#Patiala pic.twitter.com/0XgntqTEcG
— Jitender Sharma (@capt_ivane) April 29, 2022
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has summoned a high-level meeting of officers following the attacks on the Hindu temple.
The FIR has been filed under Sections 153A, 380, 427, 147, 148, 149 of IPC and section 3 Precention of Damage to public property act 1984.
Attack on Hindu temple in Patiala
The violence occurred during Shiv Sena Bal Thackeray’s ‘Khalistan Murdabad‘ march when Khalistan supporters attacked the march with stones and swords. The clashes allegedly erupted as Khalistan supporters chanted shouts supporting Khalistan while hitting participants in the ‘Khalistan Murdabad’ march.
The armed Sikh mob, a part of the pro-Khalistan rally, attacked the Kali Mata Temple after Hindus took shelter inside the temple premises.
Armed Sikh mob attack Ma Kali temple with swords and stones in Patiala
— Girish (@vikramaditya205) April 29, 2022
Hindus have taken shelter inside. The Sikh mob was part of a armed Khalistan rally crowding outside Hindu temple pic.twitter.com/neg41cZshm
Speaking to OpIndia, Harish Sangla, the Punjab working head of Shiv Sena Bal Thackeray, had said that the clashes that erupted between Khalistan supporters and Hindus during a ‘Khalistan Murdabad’ march. The march was organised by his party to protest against a small section of Khalistan supporters harbouring secessionist mentality.
“We had organised a ‘Khalistan Murdabad’ march to mark our protest against a minuscule section of people who are still harbouring secessionist ideology and support the idea of Khalistan. This march was against proponents of Khalistan who have caused serious pain to the people of Punjab, who were victims of Khalistani terrorism and had lost their loved ones to it. Our protest was against Khalistan, and we will never allow Punjab to become Khalistan,” Sangla said.
He further added, “Initially, a handful of pro-Khalistan supporters tried to stop our march, but we drove them. Then, they brought with them a large number of people to attack the Kali Mata Temple”.
A video had also gone viral on social media, wherein the Khalistani supporters were seen performing Bhangra as the Police officers fired in the air to control the crowd.
