MALERKOTLA (SANGRUR): Curfew has been re-imposed in Malerkotla.
The relaxation after 6 am on Wednesday was short-lived. The civil and police administration re-imposed the restrictions from 7 pm to 6 am in the wake of a rumour campaign on short-messaging service (SMS) that anti-social elements could resume violence.
Subdivisional Magistrate (SDM) Gurloveleen Singh has confirmed the development. Munnawar Masih, chairman of the Punjab Minority Commission, was in a meeting on Wednesday with religious leaders of the town.
Masih assured that the law would safeguard the rights of every minority.
He lauded the SDM and police administration for their role in controlling the situation on Sunday night after a church was ransacked and desecrated.
Amjad Ali, governor of Rotary International, said he would bear all expenses for restoring the church. He got the work on promptly after his declaration to create a congenial atmosphere.
The Malerkotla lawyers struck work in protest over naming of a former Nagar Council president, Azmat Ali Khan, in the first-information report (FIR) about ransacking of the church. Bhupinder Sharda, president of the local Bar association, called for excluding Khan’s name from the FIR.
