Ethnic clashes halt life in Punjab

JALANDHAR, INDIA: Life in Punjab was brought to a standstill when minority riots broke out in parts of the state following the killing of Sikh preacher Sant Ram Nand of Dera Sachkhand Ballan in Austria.

The killing flared tension in various parts of the state and it was not long before clashes and riots broke out.

The situation had to be brought under control by a curfew. Rajiv Khanna, CEO, Computer Touch, Jalandhar shared some pictures of vehicles burnt and charred and his views on the situation.

“The situation is very bad and all the people are very scared. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday was total curfew and on Thursday it was made a partial curfew, public being free from 6am to 6pm. The government has been very careless in handling the situation and as always we have suffered, who neither took part in the riots nor supported it,” Khanna said.

He also stated that loot and destruction have become common in such tense circumstances and the whole IT industry is scared as their’s is a business of costly items.

“The underlying tension has subsided for the time but there are chances of them being flaring again as the body of the Sikh leader will be brought to the country soon next week. The common man here as of now is agitated as the authorities have not handled the situation well at all, when they could have had it under control from the start itself,” he added.

As all wait for the situation to get normal once again, it is yet to be seen whether the government is able to bring peace back to the areas or the common people keep suffering under the curfew and fear of loss.