CBI court to sentence dera chief tomorrow, uneasy calm in Haryana

Chandigarh, August 27

Haryana was on edge on Sunday, a day before the special CBI judge pronounces the sentence against the maverick Dera Sacha Sauda cult chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, convicted of raping his two women followers, in Rohtak jail tomorrow.

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Ripples were also felt in Delhi and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.

There was no report of any violence in Haryana since Saturday, even as security forces remained on high alert.

Relaxation in curfew was being given at various places where it had been clamped earlier, officials said.

In Sirsa, the district administration this morning relaxed the curfew for five hours in and around Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters here, after restrictions were imposed on August 24.

Rail services from Delhi to Katra via Ambala have been resumed, Haryana DGP B S Sandhu said, adding peace prevails in the state.

Punjab was also peaceful and no untoward incident had been reported from anywhere, an official spokesperson said.

Tight security arrangements were being put in place in Sunaria jail at Rohtak, where the CBI court judge will pronounce the quantum of sentence in the rape case against 50-year-old sect chief.

Authorities said they are ensuring that law and order is maintained at all cost on Monday when the sentence is pronounced.

The judge will be flown to the district jail in Sunaria, Rohtak, for pronouncing the quantum of sentence.

Security forces were on high alert in Haryana and strict vigil was being maintained in sensitive districts, including Panchkula, Sirsa, Rohtak and Fatehabad.

Educational institutions in Haryana to remain shut tomorrow

In view of the prevailing tense situation, all schools, colleges and other educational institutions will remain closed tomorrow, a senior official said.

“All educational institutions, including government and private schools, colleges and other institutions in the entire state, will remain closed tomorrow," Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Ram Niwas, said in an official release.

At many sensitive places in Punjab, too, security forces conducted flag marches and kept a tight vigil in sensitive areas.

Punjab has tightened security at vital installations, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said on Saturday evening.

Singh will be visiting some of the affected areas of Punjab on Sunday to meet the people and the forces on the ground for maintaining peace.

Amarinder had on Saturday said Haryana’s main fault was its failure to prevent such a large crowd from gathering in Panchkula.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday castigated the Haryana government over the deadly violence that erupted in the state, saying it had “surrendered” before the followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda head for “political considerations”.

In a big crackdown, the Haryana government had on Saturday sealed over 30 congregation centres of the Dera Sacha Sauda across the state, even as it came under attack from the High Court over Friday’s violence that claimed 36 lives.

Four rifles, including an AK-47, pistols and petrol bombs were among the weapons seized from the supporters of the sect, whose chief was convicted on Friday in a 2002 rape case that sparked violence and arson, mainly in Panchkula and Sirsa, the police said.

Two cases of sedition were also registered against Dera followers, they added but did not give details.

Facing flak over the violence, the Haryana government had suspended Ashok Kumar, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Panchkula, alleging that his “defective” prohibitory orders allowed the crowd build-up in the district.

Paramilitary forces have been deployed in Rohtak, where Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh will be sentenced on Monday. Indian Army has been kept on standby.

Security has been heightened around Sunaria jail complex, where Singh is currently kept.

Rohtak Range IGP and SP have issued warned Dera against entering the district. 

District administrations of Rohtak and Kurukshetra have announced that all educational institutions will remain closed on Monday.  TNS/ Agencies