Punjab Police on high alert Monday after shutdown call

Security forces, including Punjab Police, remained on high alert following the shutdown call given by radical Sikh organisations led by Damdami Taksal.

Ludhiana city continued to be under curfew for the third day Monday while students did not report to schools in various cities of the state.

Panjab University also postponed its examinations scheduled Monday at Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur and Chandigarh centres in view of the shutdown and curfew in Ludhiana.

Trains left from Amritsar station normally early morning and passed Ludhiana, the centre-point of trouble over the last three days.

Road traffic on the busy National Highway No.1 (NH-1) and other highways was operating normally even though lesser number of vehicles could be seen plying.

The shutdown was called after violent incidents in Ludhiana Friday and Saturday left one person dead and several injured.

The Sikh organisations had clashed with the police Saturday while they tried to disrupt a religious conference of controversial sect leader Ashutosh Maharaj of the Divya Jyoti Jagriti Sansthan.