In Dera home, one dead as followers clash with police

An estimated 40,000 men from the Dera were on the move and security forces were trying to disperse them. “They are using women as shield,” a senior officer told The Indian Express. Sirsa DC Singh said, “The situation is tense but under control. We are exercising maximum restraint.”

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An injured Dera supporter in Panchkula. Jaipal Singh

At least one person died and seven were injured as Dera Sacha Sauda followers clashed with security forces in Sirsa, home to the sect, after their chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted of rape by a CBI court in Panchkula Friday. A power station and a milk plant were set on fire by a mob. Sirsa Deputy Commissioner Prabhjot Singh said the operation has been handed over to the Army.

An estimated 40,000 men from the Dera were on the move and security forces were trying to disperse them. “They are using women as shield,” a senior officer told The Indian Express. Sirsa DC Singh said, “The situation is tense but under control. We are exercising maximum restraint.”

Since morning, Dera Sacha Sauda followers had been waiting for word from the Panchkula court. Anticipating that they could resort to violence if Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted, police and paramilitary forces had set up nakas on roads leading to the sect headquarters. It is on the Sirsa-Bhadra road, a few kilometres away from the town.

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Nobody was being allowed to go to the Dera since Thursday evening after the administration imposed indefinite curfew in the town. “Our strategy was to keep the followers at one place, prevent them from heading to town. We were conscious of the immediate fallout of the court verdict. If Friday night passes without much damage, then we will be able to fully control the situation tomorrow,” a senior officer said.

Thousands of followers are still inside the Dera headquarters, spread over 1,000 acres. The roads and streets of Sirsa wore a deserted look before the court verdict. Only policemen and paramilitary personnel lined the roads. All government buses were driven to the police lines — for safekeeping and for use if needed.

IAS officer V Umashankar, who has been specially deputed to Sirsa to coordinate administration efforts, told The Indian Express that the prime concern was to ensure peace in the town.