Badal claims situation under control in Punjab

Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal today claimed that the situation was under control in the state and it was returning back to normalcy several days of clashes between Sikh organizations and followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS).

Amritsar/New Delhi, May 18 : Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal today claimed that the situation was "under control" in the state and it was returning back to normalcy several days of clashes between Sikh organizations and followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS).

"Not too many incidents of violence have been reported since yesterday, except for a couple of stray incidents here and there but that is unavoidable. Considering the possibilities, violence has been minimal. I would like to tell people of Punjab that the situation is under control," said Badal after a meeting with ruling coalition members on the issue.

Badal added that he would convene an all-party meeting to resolve the issue.

Thousands of security personnel have been deployed across Punjab.

Apart from state police, over 10,000 armed central police have been sent to Punjab and the neighbouring state of Haryana. The army has also been put on alert.

The clashes, which claimed one life and injured more than 50 others, began on Monday after the leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, which combines social work with spirituality, dressed up as Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th guru of the Sikh community.

Sikh leaders reacted angrily, calling it an act of sacrilege by the sect and its chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. However, Ram Raheem Singh has denied any wrongdoing.

ANI