Communities clash in Sultanpur Lodhi over reference to Valmiki

KAPURTHALA: A clash erupted between members of the Sikh and Valmiki communities in Dalla village, near Sultanpur Lodhi, on Tuesday morning after a preacher at an SGPC-managed gurdwara allegedly made “objectionable references“ to the sage Valmiki. Nobody was injured in the violence, confirmed a police official. Following the clash, police beefed up security outside the gurdwara and the Valmiki temple in the village to tackle any untoward situation, said senior superintendent of police (SSP) Rajinder Singh Lao.
On his part, gurdwara preacher Manpreet Singh has said that he was only narrating the popular legend around Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana, but members of the Valmiki community objected.Earlier, as news of the “objectionable remark“ spread, members of the Valmiki community gathered outside the gurdwara. Police too rea ched the spot to calm tempers down.
However, soon after, Valmiki community members started pelting stones at the gurdwara from outside. In reply, Sikhs bolted the gurdwara from inside and starting hurling stones from the rooftop. They alleged that there were attempts to damage the gurdwara too.
A vehicle of Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Committee head Sukhjit Singh Khosa, who reached the site with his supporters, was damaged by members of the Valmiki community and there was an attempt to torch it, but the fire was controlled. Gurdwara manager Gura Singh Mann said there was an attempt to set the generator also on fire, but police saved it.
Kapurthala deputy commissioner Jaskiran Singh and SSP Lao reached the spot and calmed down tempers between the two sides. The SSP said a case of hurting religious sentiments under sections 295-A of the IPC had been registered against the preacher and against the members of the Valmiki community for pelting stones at the gurdwara.