Message from Sirsa: ‘Law to be followed’

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Sirsa, August 23

Dera Sacha Sauda followers who overwhelmingly supported the BJP in the last Assembly elections are miffed at the Manohar Lal Khattar government over its “handling of the situation” ahead of Friday’s verdict in the 2002 sexual exploitation case involving sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

They are upset at the manner in which the government has created a  “media hype” by issuing statements aimed at painting the dera in a “bad light”.

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“Did we or our ‘Guruji’ ever say he will not follow the due process of law? Then why are efforts being made to draw a parallel between Dera Sacha Sauda and Rampal Ashram? Has Rampal Ashram ever been involved in welfare activities?” questions a senior functionary.

In November 2015, Hisar-based Rampal Ashram followers and police were involved in a two-week tense standoff, which ended in the death of five women and a child. Rampal was later arrested and around 15,000 followers evacuated. The Sirsa dera functionaries maintain that even Khattar’s statement today that Ram Rahim will appear before a Special CBI Court in Panchkula has proved counter-productive as thousands of followers have already reached the town ahead of the Thursday verdict. They claim senior government functionaries who met them yesterday did not even touch the issue of “Guruji’s” appearance. “Then what is the basis of Khattar’s statement?”

All that the officers said was that they want things to remain peaceful, a sentiment echoed by the dera, they say.

On if Gurmeet Ram Rahim will appear in the court, dera spokesperson Dr Aditya Insan says: “He has always followed due process of law.”

Senior IAS officer V Umashankar, who met the dera management yesterday, is scheduled to meet the dera chief tomorrow morning and a clear picture may emerge after that.

Interestingly, the state government doesn’t seem to be using political channels with the dera for a peaceful resolution. Even senior BJP leaders who have had good links with the dera have not been taken into confidence by the authorities.

Meanwhile, Haryana Roadways has decided not to run its buses from different towns to Chandigarh or Panchkula tomorrow and the day after.

Sirsa Deputy Commissioner Prabhjot Singh said all schools, colleges, ITIs, polytechnics, university, etc. in the district will remain closed on August 24 and 25. The DC today exhorted shopkeepers, educational institutions, petrol stations, banks and other commercial establishments in the district to ensure CCTV cameras installed on their premises are in working order.