M A I N   N E W S

8 dera followers held in Bathinda
Chander Parkash
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 19
In a significant development, the district police today cracked down on followers of the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, who were found to be involved in the attack on the members of various Sikh organisations when they tried to burn the effigy of its head, Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, for his alleged anti-Sikh activities on May 14 here.

Though senior police officials were tightlipped about the development, confirmed reports pointed out that so far eight followers of Dera Sacha Sauda, all belonging to this town, had been arrested.

Sources said some station house officers (SHOs) had been tasked by senior police functionaries to arrest the maximum number of followers of Dera Sacha Sauda at the earliest.

A case against a hundred unidentified followers of Dera Sacha Sauda was registered in the city police station under Sections of 323, 324, 188, 148 and 149, IPC, for their alleged involvement in the violence which took place near the mini secretariat on May 14 and left about 12 persons injured.

Police sources said those arrested so far were identified as Baldev Singh, Amar Singh, Sahil Garg, Suresh Kansal, Varun, Sat Pal, Narinder and Banta Singh. About 50 followers of Dera Sacha Sauda, against whom the case was registered, had been identified by the police so far and raids were being conducted to nab them also.

Sources said a section of the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda, fearing arrest, had started leaving for Sirsa where the main dera of the sect was located.

Information gathered by TNS revealed that the police authorities had also been trying to arrest the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda in a case registered against them under Sections 332, 353, 186, 188, 435, 427, 283, 148 and 149 of the IPC in the city police station for their alleged involvement in the attack on policemen performing the security duty near Rajindra College, causing damage to the Circuit House and burning government and private vehicles. The attack left about seven policemen, including two sub-inspectors injured.