Punjab continued to simmer over incidents of sacrilege, with Sikh activists blocking key roads at many places and paramilitary forces taking out flag marches in sensitive areas.
On Wednesday, police detained two MLA brothers from Ludhiana – Simrajit Bains and Balwinder Singh – when they were proceeding to Chandigarh to gherao Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, police said. Twenty-one supporters of theirs were also detained.
In the wake of the sensitive situation prevailing in the State after a spate of sacrilege incidents, paramilitary forces have been deployed in four districts – Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Tarn Taran.
A report from Phagwara said several Sikh activists blocked the Phagwara-Banga-Nawanshahar road near Mehlimudhali village, causing inconvenience to commuters.
In Amritsar, protesters blocked a road at the Amritsar-Jalandhar bypass and Harike in Tarn Taran, demanding action against those who indulged in the sacrilege. Some also blackened the poster of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Avtar Singh Makkar at Lahorigate, police said.