Hindus rounded up

Press, 1 July 1986, Page 6

Hindus rounded up

NZPA-Reuter Chandigarh Indian police . arrested more than 200 Hindu militants in an attempt to head off violence during a Hindu protest strike yesterday in northern Punjab State. Leaders and activists of the hardline Hindu Shiv Sena (Army of the God Shiva) were rounded up in raids which included a swoop on a Hindu temple.

Shiv Sena called a strike to protest against the ' killing of minority Hindus by Sikh extremists

fighting for an independent nation in Punjab. It rejected pleas from politicians and community leaders to call off the protest, which they feared would stoke communal tension, which has been running high since April. Reports from Punjab cities said many shopkeepers, both Sikh and Hindu, had ignored the strike call. Stores in the State capital, Chandigarh, were open and public transport was working normally. The police said they

expected that the strike would be better supported around the Sikh holy city, Amritsar, most of which has been under curfew for 10 days after Hindu riots. Thousands of Hindus have fled Punjab during the present spate of Sikh extremist attacks. A man was killed on Saturday when extremists seized his motor-scooter, a favoured vehicle for killer squads, said’ the police. This brought the death toll in Punjab this month to 93.