Online satsang by Ram Rahim at Salabatpura sparks Sikh fury

SAD (Amritsar) leader Amrik Singh Ajnala was stopped in Bathinda by police when he was moving towards Salabatpura dera along with his supporters to raise his protest against the congregation.

In Faridkot district, three buses of dera followers were stopped by members of Bargari Insaaf Morcha on NH-54 adjoining Behbal Kalan village where a dharna by Insaaf Morcha has been going on seeking justice in sacrilege cases since December 16, 2021.

Sukhraj Singh Niamiwala – son of Krishan Bhagwant Singh, one of the victims of Behbal Kalan firing incident – questioned some of the dera devotees as to why they were following a person who was named in sacrilege and several other cases. But he didn’t get any response. As no bus of dera followers was allowed to pass through NH-54, police diverted the traffic to another route, sources said.

Niamiwala said, “We are protesting against such congregations as the dera head has been named in sacrilege cases. We have been sitting on roads to seek justice for more than 400 days.” Salabatpura is the largest dera of Sacha Sauda Punjab and followers from across the state joined in the satsang in large numbers on Sunday, said Sukhnaam Singh, one of the dera devotees.

The satsang of Ram Rahim continued for about two hours. The dera head had addressed the viewers live from his UP dera.

In May 2007 Ram Rahim had allegedly imitated Guru Gobind Singh at the Salabatpura dera that had angered the Sikh outfits which culminated in a clash between the Sikhs and the dera followers.