Death Toll Rises to 28, 250 Injured

At least 30 people were killed and over 250 injured in widespread violence that erupted soon after godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted of rape by CBI court in Panchkula. Curfew has been imposed in various parts of Haryana and Punjab. It has also been extended to Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad. Within few hours of the pronouncement, Dera followers gathered in thousands, unleashed violence and set afire government buildings and vehicles in Panchkula.

Police and paramilitary tried to control the violence using teargas shells and firing. Dera Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is currently lodged in a special jail in Rohtak. His quantum of sentence will be argued on August 28 through a video conferencing. Several leaders condemned the violence. The Dera chief faces up to seven years in jail. PM Modi urged officials to work round the clock to restore normalcy and provide all possible assistance that is required.

Police has resorted to tear gas to handle the growing mobs in Panchkula. Media vehicles have been vandalised by Dera supporters, and some OB vans have been set ablaze. Curfew has been imposed in Patiala, Panchkula, Sirsa, Bhatinda, Ferozpur, Sirsa, and Mansa, Muzaffarnagar and Baghpat.

 

  • At least 30 people reportedly died and 250 injured after violence erupted in Panchkula
  • 1000 supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda have been detained in Panchkula
  • Three deaths in Panchkula are cases of self-immolation, sources from Haryana CMO confirmed to The Quint.
  • Punjab and Haryana HC orders attachment of entire DSS property to compensate for the damage caused
  • Two coaches of Reva Express, two buses have been set afire in Delhi
  • A DTC bus torched in Ghaziabad’s Loni area
  • Ram Rahim has been flown in a chopper to Rohtak jail
  • Delhi has been put on high alert as the violence spread to Haryana
  • Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh convicted of raping two women in 2002
  • The self-styled godman has been accused of raping two women at his ashram in Sirsa, Haryana, in 2002
Media persons, , have also been attacked. The government’s claims of keeping the situation under control have fallen flat. The controversial godman-turned-actor now faces minimum of 10 years in jail since the victim was a minor at the time of the sexual assault.
The Manohar Lal Khattar government’s claims of keeping the situation under control have fallen flat. The controversial godman-turned-actor now faces minimum of 10 years in jail since the victim was a minor at the time of the sexual assault.