A land dispute between Hindu’s and Sikh’s in Haryana’s Kaithal Badsui village turned violent which left one person dead and 14 others injured. The clash took place on Friday over the division of land between a gurdwara and a temple located on Shamlat (common) land
District officials meet residents of violence-hit Badsui village in Kaithal on Sunday. Image Courtesy: The Tribune
Haryana: A land dispute between Hindu’s and Sikh’s in Haryana’s Kaithal Badsui village turned violent which left one person dead and 14 others injured.
The authorities formed a “peace committee” on Monday to defuse the tension. Police said the situation has now been brought under control.
The clash took place on Friday over the division of land between a gurdwara and a temple located on Shamlat (common) land.
Kaithal Senior Superintendent of Police Wasim Akram said the dispute occurred when members of one of the communities began erecting a wall between the temple and the gurdwara on the day of Holi. “Members of the gurdwara objected to it the next day, and a man was killed in the clash that broke out. Some people took shelter in the gurdwara during the clash, after which stone-pelting was reported,” he added.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) asked its members from Haryana to probe the incident of attack on Sikhs and a gurdwara in Badsui village of Kaithal district. Gobind Singh Longowal, SGPC chief, condemned the attack and said legal action would be taken against the arsonists. He dubbed the attack as an attempt to muzzle the voice of the minority Sikh community. He said the mob took the law in their hands to resolve a dispute over land division. Longowal said the state government was responsible for safeguarding the lives and property of the minorities. He urged Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to punish the accused so that such incidents do not reoccur.
On condition of anonymity, a villager in a report by Tribune said members of the Jat community came in support of the gurdwara management committee after a section of the temple management allegedly started constructing a boundary wall. “Some villagers have differences over village politics that led to the violent clash leading to one death. A section of the temple management tried to go in for unilateral demarcation and when the gurdwara supporters objected to it, they were attacked by a mob,” he said.
The deceased, Shamsher Singh Punia, 54, was cremated amid heavy police deployment. The injured, Sandeep Punia, Partap Singh, Manprit, Devendra Singh, Sarbjit, Karamjit and Ranjit were admitted to Rajendra Hospital, Patiala, whereas two others Baljit and Jagmail Singh were referred to Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh.
Members of the other group, Charan Singh, Amit, Ravinder, Ravi Shankar, Dev Raj, Ajay and Mahinder, were also admitted to the Kaithal civil hospital with injuries.
The SP said the Kaithal police have booked 36 people by name and 15 others, including 10 women, under Sections 302 (murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon) of the Indian Penal Code. Sixteen people were detained for interrogation.
Kaithal DC Priyanka Soni said the situation was under control now. Rajesh Kumar, a resident of the village, said Rs. 5 lakh was allocated to the village under MPLAD funds and the money was being spent on construction of a boundary wall and this led to the clash. Police officials associated with the investigation said that a former sarpanch Om Prakash had instigated some people and he has been arrested.