Chandigarh: A series of incidents of violence in Punjab and Haryana followed the conviction of Sirsa Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a rape case.
According to The Tribune (TT), 31 people have died in the violence. Many, including police personnels, have sustained injuries.
“Followers of Ram Rahim, who had gathered here in thousands over the past four days, went on a rampage, hurling stones, vandalising media vehicles and setting afire several vehicles, many among them two-wheelers”, notes TT.
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Immediately after the CBI court here convicted the Dera Sacha Sauda chief, many of his followers broke police barricades and security cordons.
At least three OB vans of private television channels were damaged. Two vans were overturned by a mob.
The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) government in Haryana is facing severe criticism as it had allowed the Dera followers to rush in and gather at Panchkula despite prohibitory orders.
A minister of Haryana government had offered facilities to dera followers yesterday. He had also said that the prohibitory orders does not apply to ‘devotion of the Dera followers’.
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