Amritsar: Personal enmity reason behind violence at Anayatpura, says JAS

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 21

Jamhoori Adhikar Sabha (JAS), an organisation working for human rights and fundamental rights, on Thursday made public its report regarding the violence at Anayatpura village, near Majitha, in which two persons were killed.

JAS secretary Yashpal Jhabal, while presenting the report that a four-member committee had visited the village to gather the facts, said the incident was a result of personal enmity between the two groups and had nothing to do with caste or regional differences.

He said: “Some communal organisations tried projecting it as a clash between Sikh and Muslims, while others tried to turn it into a conflict between natives and migrants.” The report also raises questions on the functioning of the police.

It alleged that the kin of the deceased Gujjars claimed that they had handed over 130 bullet shells to the police after the firing, but cops claimed they have recovered only six. The committee members including Dr Parminder Singh, Amarjit Singh Bhalla and Gurbachan Singh also demanded immediate action against the persons involved in the firing.

March 21 incident

Two persons — Suram Din (22) and Ali (32) — belonging to the Gujjar community were killed in a clash with a local farming community on March 21. Residents of Anayatpura village and two groups had a minor alteration earlier after an accident involving a cart and a tractor-trailer. The cart driven by members of the farming community overturned after a tractor-trailer, owned by Gujjars, hit it on a narrow passage. Though none from the two groups were injured, it led to an altercation. A few hours later, the two groups clashed leaving two from Gujjar community dead.

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