Curfew for second day in Punjab town

BATALA - An indefinite curfew continued in this Punjab town for the second day, following incidents of violence after the publication of a poster depicting Jesus Christ in an objectionable manner, police said Sunday.

However, senior police officials said the situation was under control.

“We have not lifted the curfew so far because we do not want to take any chances. Overall situation is under our control but there are places where the condition is still tense,” said Preet Singh Sahota, inspector general of police (border range) in Batala, around 250 km from state capital Chandigarh.

He added: “Over 2,000 cops are deployed to keep a vigil against anti-social elements in this town. Police teams are patrolling the area regularly and we have made all arrangements for the safety of the common man.”

Curfew was imposed Saturday after tension prevailed following the publication of the objectionable poster, which depicted Jesus Christ holding a beer can in one hand and what appeared to be either a cigarette or a chicken leg in the other.

Clashes broke out in the town Saturday as some members of the Christian community forced shopkeepers to down shutters.

Police sources said nearly a dozen people, including a journalist of a Punjabi daily, were rounded up Sunday as they had violated the regulations of the curfew.

There were reports that some members of the Christian community again forced the shopkeepers in Tiber village to down shutters, but the situation was brought under control after the intervention of the police.

Batala, 40 km from Amritsar, has a sizeable Christian population and several leading schools and other institutions run by the community for the past several decades.

Police had also sealed the printing press in Jalandhar, where the controversial poster was printed.