Punjab town quiet, curfew relaxed for three hours

CHANDIGARH - Curfew was relaxed in Punjab’s Malerkotla town Tuesday for three hours after there were no fresh incidents of violence.

However, the administration imposed orders prohibiting the assembly of five or more people at a place as a precautionary measure. The curfew was relaxed from 11 a.m. till 2 p.m.

Curfew was imposed in Sangrur district’s Malerkotla town, about 150 km from here, after the property of a church was set on fire Monday by a mob following rumours that the Quran has been burnt in Michigan, US.

Religious leaders from the Muslim and Christian communities met with district administration officials later Monday and appealed to people to maintain calm. They said no heed should be paid to rumours about burning of the Quran in the US.

Police officials said the rumour about the desecration of the holy book started following the recent controversy in the US after a pastor in Florida threatened to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

Malerkotla town has a population of nearly 110,000, over 55 percent of them being Muslims. Formerly a princely state, where not even a single incident of violence was reported during the partition of India in 1947, the town is now part of Sangrur district.

There was also tension Monday in Punjab’s industrial hub of Ludhiana, 110 km from here, when members of the Muslim and Christian communities gathered following rumours of Quran burning in the US. Protests were also held by the Muslim community in Jalandhar city.