6 kiosks of migrants burnt, case registered; Aujla flays incident

Amritsar, June 13

Some unidentified persons burnt six kiosks near Meerankot Chowk on the Ajnala road here late on Wednesday night. The police were yet to find any clues about the perpetrators behind the incident. All the kiosks belonged to migrants.

The police said an FIR was registered and further investigations were in progress. Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla has condemned the incident and asked the cops to take stern action against the perpetrators in this connection. He met with shopkeepers and those whose kiosks were burnt in the fire.

Deepak Kumar, who runs a kiosk of cigarettes and tobacco, said he closed his shop at around 10pm. He said at around 2am, he got a call that his kiosk had been set on fire. He said he reached the spot within half an hour and by that time, it was completely gutted.

Mohammad Hussain, another migrant, told the police that he runs a tea stall and closed his kiosk at 10pm. He came to know about the incident at around 1.30am.

“These kiosks were our only source of earning and now it would be difficult for us to get the kiosks constructed again,” he said.

Shamsher Singh, SHO, Kamboh police station, said the kiosks located along the main Amritsar-Ajnala road were burnt by unidentified miscreants last night. He said CCTV cameras were being analysed to find clues about the perpetrators.

“An FIR has been lodged and the accused would be arrested soon,” he said. Two kiosks were burnt in the area under the city police commissionerate and four under the rural police jurisdiction, he added. MP Aujla said nobody would be allowed to spread disharmony among the people of Punjab. “Everybody has the right to earn their livelihood. The majority of skilled workers in Punjab are migrants,” he said. He warned those who wanted to create a divide between migrants and Punjabis by such acts.