Chandigarh, Feb. 27: Thousands of armed Dera Sacha Sauda men, apparently provoked by the registration of a fresh murder case against their spiritual guru, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, went on the rampage on Saturday evening, setting fire to railway property and dozens of buses across several towns in south-western Punjab and western Haryana.
The CBI booked the Dera chief and four others for the “murder” of a former Sacha Sauda manager who disappeared from his home in Dabwali village in 1991. The CBI registered an FIR following a preliminary inquiry ordered by the Punjab and Haryana high court.
Shortly after news of the CBI’s action became public, Dera adherents poured out on to the streets in the districts of Moga, Bathinda, Mansa, Karnal, Jind, Hisar and Fatehabad, and Sirsa, where the Dera’s headquarters is located.
Intent on violence, the demonstrators torched dozens of buses and private vehicles. In Moga town the mob set fire to the stationary Ludhiana-Ferozepur passenger train. Trains were similarly targeted at Jaito and Albela Village near Kotkapura. Another group tried burning a train at Ludhiana Railway Station but was driven away by armed security personnel.
Taken by complete surprise, senior police officials struggled to comprehend the situation even as unidentified rioters opened fire at the bus stand in Baghapurana town. “We are trying to control the situation. Our men are out there,” DIG (Ferozepur Range) R.P. Mittal said.
The police has arrested 20 rioters, including eight women at Baghapurana. With reports still pouring in, at least three people, including the driver of a passenger train, are stated to have been hurt in the violence.
In Haryana rioters torched several standing state roadways buses at Sirsa, Uchana and Kaithal. The inter-city bus station at Fatehabad was also set on fire.
There were also reports of gunfire inside the Dera headquarters in Sirsa but this was refuted by a senior Sacha Sauda spokesman, Dr Aditya Insan. Dera functionaries have also questioned the veracity of police and media reports identifying the rioters as Sacha Sauda followers. “This is completely out of character. Our people are peaceful and would never resort to such extreme violence, whatever the provocation,” Dr Insan told this newspaper on the telephone from Sirsa.
According to him, thousands of premis (Dera followers) in fact donated blood for military hospitals at a special camp on Saturday morning. “Later this evening thousands participated in the majlis (religious congregation). There has been no sign of anybody being provoked by the CBI’s case,” he said.
Nonetheless, the situation at the trouble spots continues to be very tense. Police reinforcements are being rushed in and the Army has also been alerted.
Punjab deputy chief minister and home minister Sukhbir Badal is stated to be personally monitoring the emerging situation. “Anyone indulging in violence or flaming communal passions will face legal consequences,” he said.
Asit Jolly