Police, forces on alert in Punjab, conduct flag march

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Punjab police and paramilitary forces on Tuesday conducted a flag march in various places apprehending violence in the wake of possible execution of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a convict in the assassination of former Chief Minister Beant Singh.

Security forces have been conducting repeated flag march at various places in the state including Moga, Jalandhar and Ludhiana, to instill a sense of confidence among residents.

Punjab's DGP Sumedh Singh Saini has directed the district police chiefs to take all preventive and necessary steps to maintain peace in the state.

Meanwhile, police patrolling has also been intensified in the urban and rural areas as a precautionary measure. Extra forces have been deployed around sensitive installations.

A few companies of paramilitary forces had been rushed from the Centre as a precautionary measure and have been deployed at Amritsar, Patiala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and other places.

Security around the Central Jail at Patiala, where Rajoana is lodged, has been beefed up by erecting additional security check points and restricting the entry.

Rajoana, as per a court order, will be hanged on March 31 at Central Jail, Patiala. SGPC, the apex religious body of Sikhs, on Monday sent a mercy petition to the President seeking clemency for Rajoana even as Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said he would soon meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard.

In a related development, the Superintendent of Patiala Jail moved a petition in a court seeking deferment of Babbar Khalsa militant's hanging as the CBI contended he had no locus standi to challenge the warrant of execution.

Meanwhile, activists of some Sikh organisations took out a protest march in Jalandhar on Tuesday and raised slogans in favour of Rajoana.

There were reports of similar protest marches being taken out at other places in the state including Hoshiarpur, with activists demanding clemency for Rajoana.

The special CBI court had awarded death sentence to Rajoana and Jagtar Singh Hawara on August one, 2007.