Gurudwara damaged during anti-Andhra protests; bir of Guru Granth Sahib burnt

Vizianagaram(Andhra Pardesh), October 6, 2013 - A Gurdwara  was allegedly damaged and bir of Guru Granth Sahib were burnt during a protest by united-Andhra supporters against the decision to create new Telangana state, triggering agitation by Sikhs in Hyderabad and drawing condemnation of the National Commission for Minorities and the SGPC today. The protestors yesterday damaged the window panes of the Gurudwara in K L Puram area in Vizianagaram town, which has been witnessing large-scale destruction of public and private property allegedly by united Andhra Pradesh supporters since October 4 in protest against the Union Cabinet's decision to create Telangana state. An unruly mob indulged in vandalism in the town during the 48-hour Seemandhra bandh and pelted stones on the shrine, damaging its window panes, a senior police officer said. Police immediately intervened and rescued five persons from the religious place, the officer said. "We are in the process of identifying the persons behind the incident after going through the video-footage. The Vizianagaram I Town police have booked a case under relevant sections of IPC," the officer said. 

Meanwhile, National Commission for Minorities and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee condemned the attack. "It is shocking to hear that the Gurdwara sahib was attacked by a mob. It is a condemnable act by miscreants who have been agitating against setting up of new Telengana state," NCM member Ajaib Singh said. He urged the Andhra Pradesh DGP to provide full security to the minority communities and their religious places. He alleged that a mob had attacked the Gurdwara and set it on fire causing major damage, and that the caretakers of the Gurdwara were beaten badly and received injuries. However, police in Vizianagaram said the shrine was not set on fire by the protestors. Singh said a place of worship should not have become a target of attack during the rising tension and uprisings against the new state of Telengana. SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar also condemned the incident. He said maintaining law and order is the state subject and urged the state government to take action against the miscreants. He said there were an estimated one lakh Sikhs and two Gurdwara Sahibs in Vishakapatnam. "The cause of the attack is not yet known. A person close to the Gurdwara Sahib has said he was hiding in a small room while the Gurdwara Sahib was being ransacked by a mob. The total damage has not yet been assessed, but police have controlled the situation now," he said.  Sikhs in Hyderabad and Secunderabad also staged a protest against the incident at Gurudwara Saheb Ameerpet in Hyderabad, demanding that the central and state governments arrest the miscreants involved in the attack and take stringent action against them.
President of Gurudwara Sahib Ameerpet, S Darshan Singh said attacking a religious place which has nothing to do with the ongoing Seemandhra agitation is very unfortunate and should be condemned by one and all. Sikhs are peace-loving people and never get into controversies, he said. President of Gurudwara Sahib Barambala, Sikh Chawniat, Attapur,  Harbans Singh demanded that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy see to it that culprits who were involved in the attack are arrested and stringent action is taken against them so that such incidents do not recur. Curfew was cla
According to Dwaraka Tirumala Rao, IGP (North Coastal Zone), curfew has been imposed and shoot-at-sight orders issued by the district administration. He claimed that the situation in Seemandhra was by and large under control . Satya Engineering College, run by family members of the Andhra Pradesh Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana at Gajularega on the outskirts of Vizianagaram, was also attacked in the violence. The properties of Satyanarayana were being targeted by the protesters since the last two days.
Police have taken over 100 pro-united Andhra agitators into custody for allegedly indulging in violence in Vizianagaram and surrounding areas, a senior official said. Central para-military forces, besides state police personnel, are deployed in large numbers in the town and its outskirts, the official said, adding Rapid Action Force (RAF) men held march near Clock Tower and Fort areas and on streets leading towards Satyanarayana's residence in the town. Vizianagaram, a town in coastal Andhra, has been roiling since the Union Cabinet's October 3 decision to create the state of Telangana out of the state of Andhra Pradesh.
"Lot of violence was reported, with the protesters indulging in arson, looting shops, setting a bank on fire, and damaging public and private properties. In view of the violence, authorities ordered a curfew late last night," Rao said . Unidentified anti-Telangana activists hurled stones at police injuring two personnel at Kanykaparameswsari temple prompting police to lathi charge the agitators. Police also caned agitators at Dasannapeta Rythu bazar when they pelted them with stones.
Pro-united Andhra protesters raised slogans against police and government when some women drawing water from road-side pipes at a residential colony on the outskirts of Vizianagaram were caned by police.
At some places, people who had no knowledge about imposition of curfew and related violence were seen moving on the streets as usual. Tension prevailed in Vizianagaram town and other parts of the district for the third day today, as anti-bifurcation agitators hit the streets despite a curfew and pelted police with stones.
Police fired rubber bullets in the air at Kothapeta area on the outskirts of the town in response to the stone-pelting, and lathi charged a crowd in Palliveedhi area today.