7 hours ago
Prohibitory orders over communal tension in Paonta villages extended till June 26
Prohibitory orders imposed in the villages of Paonta Sahib area of Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district due to apprehensions of a communal flare-up has been extended till June 26, officials said on Friday.
Two groups had clashed on June 13 over elopement of a Hindu-Muslim couple. Due to 'prevailing communal tension and volatile law and order situation' prohibitory orders already in force since June 13 in five villages -- Kiratpur, Malion, Fatehpur, Missarwala and Majra -- under the Majra police station in Poanta subdivision, has been extended till June 26 by district magistrate (DM) Priyanka Verma, an order issued on Thursday night said.
According to the order issued under Section 163 of Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, there will be a complete ban on the assembly of five or more persons, carrying lethal weapons, public rally, procession or hunger strike, carrying any kind of inflammable material, pelting stones or any objectionable material in public places and delivering inflammatory speeches or communal or anti-state speeches within the boundaries of these villages.
The DM said that she has received a report from district police chief Nishchint Singh Negi that despite earlier preventive measures, the law and order situation remains volatile due to communal tensions, including recent incidents of arrest and inflammatory public speeches by the political leaders in the vicinity.
On June 13, prohibitory orders were imposed till June 19 after an incident of maintain law and order, police resorted to lathicharge and more than ten people, including police and women, were injured. Four people have been arrested in connection with the case so far, while the BJP state chief Rajiv Bindal and BJP MLA from Poanta, Sukhram Chaudhary have been booked for attempted murder. They have secured interim relief.
