Panchkula turns fortress, borders sealed : The Tribune India

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Panchkula turns fortress, borders sealed

CHANDIGARH: To maintain law and order in Panchkula in view of the CBI court verdict in the rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh tomorrow, the Haryana Government has called the Army.

Panchkula turns fortress, borders sealed

Jawans guard the entry point to the district courts complex in Panchkula on Thursday. NITIN MITTAL



Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, August 24

To maintain law and order in Panchkula in view of the CBI court verdict in the rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh tomorrow, the Haryana Government has called the Army. 

To control the over 1.5 lakh dera followers, who have gathered in Panchkula, the Haryana Government has deployed 6,000 security personnel, including 50 companies of paramilitary forces.

To protect the court complex, the security agencies have put in place a four-tier security system. Even in the Singh choe, which passes through Sectors 1, 2 and 4, the Panchkula police have put up barricades to block the entry of dera followers. 

There will be around 800 security personnel in and around the court complex. Around 100 court employees will be present in the District Courts complex in Sector 1 tomorrow whereas eight or nine staff members will be present in the special CBI court where the dera head will appear in person at 2.30 pm tomorrow.

Earlier in the day, Ambala Divisional Commissioner Vivek Joshi and Panchkula Police Commissioner AS Chawla held a meeting with the Duty Magistrates deployed in Panchkula and discussed various important points related to law and order with them.

Who all will be present in the CBI court

In the special CBI court of Judge Jagdeep Singh, the CBI DIG, SP, Joint Director, CBI counsel and the legal adviser will be present. From the defence side, counsel SK Garg Narwana and his team of advocates will be present. The court had also directed the dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to remain present in person at 2.30 pm. Around eight or nine court employees, including the reader, steno, translator and ahlmad, will also be present. 

Senior cops on toes 

Apart from 50 companies of paramilitary forces, two ADGPs, three IG, 12 SPs and DSPs, a bomb disposal squad, anti-sabotage check teams, a mounted police force and other cops have been posted at Panchkula. 

Roads closed 

The movement of traffic has been stopped on five roads around the District Courts. The roads surrounding the premises of the court and the road separating Sectors 1 and 2 will remain closed for two days. Besides, the road separating Sector 1 and 6, roads from old Panchkula to the Tank Chowk traffic lights and the routes of Majri Chowk beneath the flyover have been closed. The entry to Panchkula from Hallo Majra has been sealed. All borders of Panchkula have been sealed.

Shops and Industries closed 

The Panchkula Beopar Mandal and the Industries Association have decided to close their shops and industries on Friday in Panchkula. 

Control room

In order to deal with the emergency situation, a control room has been set up by the Panchkula administration with the numbers 0172-2561262 and 2566262. The control room can be contacted from 9 am to 5 pm. Similarly, a second district control room will work 24 hours with the number 0172-2595009. The DC camp office can also be contacted in case of an emergency on 0172-2555075. 

Liquor shops closed in Panchkula

The Panchkula district administration has directed that all liquor shops and vends within the limits of the Municipal Corporation, Panchkula, and Barwala and Raipur Rani blocks will remain closed till 10 am on August 26.

Riot-control centre set up in Sector 6

The Haryana Government has set up a state riot-control centre at the Police Headquarters in Sector 6, Panchkula. The centre will be operational round the clock for lending assistance to the people.People can contact the centre on 0172-2587905 and Fax No. 0172-2587906. Besides, people can also contact 

on 0172-2587901 to 2587904 or on 100. Information provided by them will be kept secret.

No holiday in UT offices today 

The offices of the Chandigarh Administration will remain open on August 25. 

UT govt schools closed on Saturday

Government schools in the UT will remain closed on Saturday. Six schools have been earmarked for the stay of the security forces.

Mobile Internet services suspended for 72 hours

The UT has suspended mobile Internet services for 72 hours. The decision was taken at a coordination committee meeting of Haryana, Punjab and the UT. All mobile Internet services (2G/3G/4G/CDMA), all SMS and  dongle services provided on mobile networks except voice calls in the territorial jurisdiction of Chandigarh have been suspended for the next  three days.

Won’t go back: Premis

Late at night, dera followers thronged the road separating Sectors 2 and 4 in Panchkula, raising slogans that they would not go back.

LATE NIGHT COMMOTION

Late on Thursday night, commotion was witnessed in Panchkula when the district administration made public announcements, urging the dera followers to disperse from the town in view of the prohibitory order under Section 144 of the CrPC, which prohibits the assembly of five or more persons. Meanwhile, the Army was put on standby as the agitated dera followers started moving away from Sectors 3, 4 and 5, close to the CBI court in Sector 1 past midnight. Official sources did not rule out clamping of curfew and sealing Panchkula on Friday, besides contemplating ban on the entry of outsiders to Panchkula. Hectic activity was also witnessed at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Sector 3, which was designated a special jail. 

Dera chief calls for calm

The dera head made an appeal to his followers through the electronic media to return to their respective places. He appealed to his followers to maintain law and order. “I respect the law and will appear before the court to listen to the verdict on Friday,” Ram Rahim said. 

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