Four FIRs were registered on Sunday, a day after the Qaumi Insaaf Morcha’s march to the residence of Punjab governor on Independence Day brought the city to a standstill.
The main FIR was registered under Arms Act and various sections of BNS for rioting and under Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act at the Sector 36 police station over how Qaumi Insaaf Morcha and other organisations assembled at the Sector 51/52 dividing road, blocked the road and tried to break the police barricades to enter Chandigarh. They were carrying posters, swords, axes, spears and other weapons and raised slogans demanding the release of Sikh prisoners. Among those booked were Gurcharan Singh, father of Jagtar Singh Hawara, activists Bhana Sidhu, Lakha Sidhana, Gurdeep Bathinda and farmer leader Sukhjinder Singh Khosa among others.
Another case under Section 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered at the Sector 3 police station. This was against the son of former MP Emaan Singh Mann and seven others who were arrested near the governor’s residence in Sector 6.
The third FIR was registered at the Sector 3 police station under various sections for disobedience of an order by a public servant against former MP Simranjit Singh Mann and three others. Mann had allegedly disguised himself as a patient and covered himself in bandages. He was in an ambulance while he tried to gain passage till the governor’s house.
The fourth FIR, registered at the Sector 26 police station, mentioned that nine people associated with the Morcha were arrested near the Sector 7/8 dividing road. Four swords were seized from them. Relevant sections of the Arms Act, besides provisions relating to disobedience of an order duly promulgated by a public servant, were invoked
Protesters, police face off
{{/usCountry}}Protesters, police face off
{{/usCountry}}The face-off began around 2 pm when protesters came in large numbers to remove the barricades. Police had set up barbed wires and three layers of barricades while protesters tied the barricades to tractors in an attempt to pull them away. They also hurled stones at policemen.
Police officials said that this went on for around one and a half hours. Cops had to keep firing multiple rounds of tear-gas shells to disperse the protesters. Drones were also used to throw teargas at the protesters.
Traffic woes
Traffic jams were reported throughout the city. The borders with Mohali, Zirakpur and New Chandigarh were sealed while the roads from the ISBT-43 area northwards towards the Governor’s House in Sector 6 were also barricaded.
All the boundary points with Mohali from the Max Hospital road near Sector 56 till the Sector 48/49 dividing road were sealed. Further, roads along Vikas Marg towards the north were also blocked. Some points remained open but witnessed major traffic jams.
Social media was rife with complaints from residents. Even ambulances were seen stuck.