CHANDIGARH, Sept 30: Tension is simmering in the Harijan colony of Mulanpur village under Kharar police station where some of the houses were allegedly damaged yesterday by the sewadars of Gurdwara Ratwara Sabib.The residents of the village alleged that 300-odd men led by Baba Harpal Singh attacked the Harijan bastis, which have been existing for the last 20 years, with axes and other lethal weapons, razed two houses to the ground and carried away the malba in the trucks.They also razed 50-odd eucalyptus trees in the courtyards of the houses along the road, it was alleged. The residents said that when they resisted, the sewadars, most of them women, became violent and injured seven persons including three women - Ajmer Kaur, Jaspal Kaur, Darshana Devi. One Bittu received head injuries during the scuffle.The incident occurred at 2 pm yesterday and subsequently the people blocked the traffic for at least two hours before they marched to the police station. However a compromise was reached between the two parties.However Baba Harpal Singh that the sewadars were performing kar sewa by clearing the roadsides in preparation for the three-day religious congregation slated from October 3, when some unscrupulous elements entered the scene and attacked them. The attack led to free-for-all, he added.``We are ready to compensate with Rs 50,000 each to two Harijan families whose houses were damaged by the sewadars during the kar sewa'', Baba added.He alleged that some people were trying to give political colour to the scuffle.Meanwhile, village sarpanch Diwan Singh, Hukam Chand Sharma and Dr G.S. Jammu condemned the attack on the innocent people and demanded legal action as well as compensation from the government to the affected.In a statement, the village Gurdwara Committee president demanded high-level inquiry into the episode.Although SDM and tehsildar were also present in the village when the incident occurred, they did not turn up at the site of the incident despite repeated requests, alleged village sarpanch Diwan Singh. The SDM, however, was not available for the comment.
