E-Paper
Three men booked for setting Ravana’s effigy on fire a day before Dussehra
One accused, Sukhwant Singh of Dera Jagadhri has been arrested, for setting ablaze disassembled effigy of Ravana at the Ramleela Ground on October 4, while other two, identified as Mangu and Lavi, both residents of Mehmadpur, Derabassi, are absconding, said police
Almost after three months, some miscreants set ablaze disassembled effigy of Ravana at the Ramleela Ground on October 4, a day before Dussehra, Derabassi police on Friday arrested one out of three persons booked in the case.
One accused, Sukhwant Singh of Dera Jagadhri has been arrested, while other two, identified as Mangu and Lavi, both residents of Mehmadpur, Derabassi, are absconding, said police.
A cop privy to the case said, “We will soon nab the other two accused.”
According to the police the face of the effigy was partially damaged as people on site had managed to douse the flames within seconds, and salvage the effigy.
The accused were booked on the complaint of ramleela Dussehra committee president Gulshan Sachdeva, who also accused Derabassi police of negligence.
He said despite repeated requests to the police to deploy at least two cops to guard the effigies, no one paid heed to their requests or else the incident could have been avoided.
“They also pelted stones at the stage. This is a major failure of the administration and the police who failed to make adequate arrangements”, Gulshan added.
Calling it an attempt to sabotage Hindu festivities, the complainant said, “We were preparing for the event two months prior to Dusshehra. Moreover, the community has a religious and emotional connection with the festival. The police personnel deployed to safeguard the effigies did not take their duty seriously, and returned after clicking selfies.”
The accused have been booked under Sections 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class), 295 A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
