Punjab was seen limping back to normalcy after over a week-long protests, following sacrilege incidents and killing of two men in police firing. Traffic movement in most of the state and national highways was normal on Friday, officials said.
“The situation is peaceful. There is normalcy. However, central forces are still with us as a precautionary measure,” said police commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh.
However, protests by Sikh organisations continued. Police and central para military forces are on high alert and keeping a close vigil on the situation, police said. The situation is normal in most of the districts, including Moga, Faridkot, Muktsar, Bathinda, Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana. Ten companies of central para military forces are in place at Amritsar, Ludhiana, Tarn Taran and Jalandhar.
Meanwhile, residents of Panjgrain Khurd village in Faridkot, the native place of two alleged prime accused in Bargari village sacrilege incident, maintained that they are “innocent and had been framed by police to quell the situation”. After the desecration in Bargari village, a series of such incidents took place in other districts of Punjab.
Incidents of sacrilege took place at seven villages in the state in the recent past putting the state under turmoil with Sikh protesters blocking the highways and other key roads.
Phoolka to offer free legal help to accused brothers
Noted Supreme Court lawyer HS Phoolka on Friday offered to provide free legal help to the family of two brothers, who were arrested in the alleged sacrilege incident at Bargarhi village in Faridkot district. “I was asked by activists Panthpreet Singh, Giani Kewal Singh as well as Panchayat members of Panjgrain Khurd village to provide legal services to the brothers and I have agreed to give them my services free of cost," he said. He said family of the two brothers, residents of Panjgrain Khurd village, had also met him.