An association formed by local residents of the Sanghni village in Himachal Pradesh's Chamba district in protest against the murder of the 27-year-old herder Manohar Lal will organise a rally Thursday and shut down the Chamba market for at least four hours from 9 am to 1 pm. Sanghni Hatyakand Sangharsh Samiti has named the rally 'Vishal Janakrosh Rally'. The Himachal Pradesh Police Wednesday said they had made adequate security arrangements before the rally. Meanwhile, another organisation, Devbhoomi Sanghtan, has given a call to enter the Salooni subdivision to meet the family members of Lal Thursday. The district authorities had issued prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC in the Salooni area for two months to avoid an escalation of tension in the area. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Chamba, Vinod Dhiman, said, "The protest rally will be held only in Chamba. We have made adequate security arrangements in the view of law and order, and traffic management. Nobody is allowed to enter the Salooni sub-division where Section 144 of CrPC is in effect. Last week also, a protest rally was held in Chamba. The situation was peaceful. Three murder accused were sent to judicial custody. Two juveniles are in the care of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Chamba. Six other family members are in preventive custody." Lal was killed and his mutilated body in eight pieces stuffed in three jute bags was found near a stream flowing down from a hill at the Bhandal village in Salooni on June 9. The brutal killing got a communal tone when an agitated mob backed by local leaders protested outside the area police station in Kihar and later marched towards Sanghni, where they set on fire the houses of the accused, Musaffir Hussain, 40, on June 15. The police had earlier said Hussain suspected Manohar was in a relationship with his minor niece. A cattle merchant who lived on a hilltop, Hussain allegedly invited Manohar to his house and killed him there. Additional police force from Shimla headquarters and hundreds of personnel of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRBn) have been stationed in Chamba for the last week.
