Punjab: Torn pages of holy books on road, cops in a tizzy

Ludhiana: Torn pages from two religious books were found scattered by the roadside near Chander Nagar here on Monday, police said, even as a large contingent of personnel was deployed there as a precautionary step after similar cases recently sparked unrest in Punjab.

SHO of Police Station 4, Dharam Pal, who reached the spot with a police party, said, "The torn pages of the holy books were lying on both sides of the road."

He said the pages were found scattered around a half-a- kilometre radius and added that police were taking the help of footage from CCTV cameras installed in various shops in the area in order to identify the culprits.

Police said that a large number of personnel has been deployed at the spot after the matter came to light.

Meanwhile, activists of some religious organisations were seen shouting slogans against the government in Chander Nagar. The alleged case of desecration came to light as a 'prabhat pheri' (morning religious procession) was passing the area.

Punjab has seen over 10 incidents of alleged desecration of religious books over the last one month. Violent protests were held over these incidents, leading to the death of two persons and injuries to others.