A Sena leader told the news agency PTI that the march was against the announcement by Sikhs for Justice to observe the foundation day of Khalistan.
The Patiala administration has imposed a curfew - from 7 pm today till 6 am tomorrow - in the wake of violence between two groups during an 'anti-Khalistan' march on Friday. However, all emergency and essential services shall remain exempted from the order. Two people have been injured in the clash, and the police had to open fire to bring the situation under control.
What happened?
According to initial reports, a group which identified itself as members of Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) took out a "Khalistan Murdabad March".
Another group, comprising Sikh activists and Nihangs, took out a march to counter the Shiv Sena event. The two groups confronted each other near the Kali Mata temple, and pelted stones at each other.
A Sena leader told the news agency PTI that the march was against the announcement by Sikhs for Justice to observe the foundation day of Khalistan today.
Who organised the protest?
The "Khalistan Murdabad March" was organised by Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) leader Harish Singla. He said the march was against Gurpatwant Pannun's announcement of the 'foundation day of Khalistan'. "To answer them, the Sena had also decided to take out the 'Khalistan Murdabad March' on April 29," he said.
How did the police react?
Patiala's Inspector General of Police Rakesh Agarwal told the reporters that the situation was brought under control. He said they had called additional force from outside, and a peace committee meeting had been convened.
The police said they are conducting a flag march in the city.
Bhagwant Mann, who became the Punjab Chief Minister last month, called the incident unfortunate. He vowed that the government will not let anybody disturb peace in Punjab.
"The incident of clashes in Patiala is deeply unfortunate. I have spoken to the DGP; peace has been restored in the area. We are closely monitoring the situation and will not let anyone create disturbance in the state," Mann said in a tweet.
With inputs from PTI
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 "Patiala violence: Police had to open fire to control warring groups; 11-hour curfew imposed")
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