Chandigarh, May 28: Day curfew was on Thursday lifted
in Jalandhar, Phagwara, Hoshiarpur, Malout and Ludhiana in
Punjab following improvement in the situation in the areas hit
by violence following the attack on a sect leader in Vienna.
All shops and other commercial establishments
reopenend after three days in the trouble-torn regions of the
state after lifting of day-time curfew, officials said.
Curfew has been relaxed till six pm.
Train and bus services have been restored, they said.
However, as a precautionary measure, educational
institutions remained closed in the disturbed areas, the
officials said.
Meanwhile, Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner A S Pannu
said the body of slain Dera leader Sant Rama Nand will be
flown from Vienna to Amritsar in a couple of days from where
it will be taken to the sect's headquarters Ballan in
Jalandhar district.
While para-military forces have been sent back to the
barracks, state police continue to be deployed in sensitive
points in Jalandhar district, which was worst-hit by the
violence.
Twenty three people have been arrested across the
state for indulging in arson.
Punjab witnessed large-scale violence and arson
after followers of Sikh religious sect Dera Sachkhand Ballan
took to the streets on Sunday night in protest against the
attack on their leaders in a Vienna Gurudwara.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, May 28, 2009, 12:28