Batala : Followers of the Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan, Nurmahal (Jalandhar), and members of the Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Committee clashed in Ghuman town last evening, leaving 10 injured. Senior police officers, including SSP Opinderjit Singh Ghuman, camped in the town throughout the day today. An anti-drug camp by the Divya Jyoti sect followers was in progress when Guru Granth Sahib committee members attacked them. A heated exchange between the groups escalated into a clash, in which 10 members of the Divya Jyoti sect were hurt.
The injured persons were taken to the local Civil Hospital, from where they were referred to hospital in Amritsar. The SSP said the Guru Granth Sahib committee members were angry over the Divya Jyoti followers’ decision to visit homes of addicts, claiming their privacy would be intruded. Divya Jyoti sect member Jagbir Singh claimed that when he and other followers went to the Ghuman police station to lodge a complaint, they were attacked again with swords and other weapons. A case has been registered against 20 Guru Granth Sahib committee members under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntary causing hurt), 324 (causing injuries using sharp-edged weapons), 148 (rioting) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of the IPC. “The police have rounded up 10 of the accused and a hunt is on to arrest the others,” the SSP said.