Gurmeet Ram Rahim rape case verdict: 550 people rounded up, arms recovered after violence in Panchkula

A rape case was registered against Dera chief in December 2002 by the CBI.

Chandigarh: Haryana's Director General of Police (DGP) BS Sandhu on late Friday night said that 550 people have been rounded up and some arms and ammunition have been recovered due to the violence in Panchkula.

Speaking at press conference here, Sandhu said, "Curfew, which was clamped in Panchkula in the evening, has been lifted but certain restrictions are still in place. Three rifles, three pistols along with live cartridges and narcotics have been recovered and 65 Dera vehicles have been impounded".

Confirming about the deaths in the state, Sandhu said 28 people died in the violence in Panchkula, six of them due to bullet injuries.

"60 policemen, including two SSPs, were also injured in the violence. While, 28 people died in the violence in Panchkula, six of them due to bullet injuries. Panchkula was now peaceful and all Dera supporters have been moved out even as some restrictions were still in place," DGP said.

He added that except for Sirsa, situation in rest of Haryana was under control.

"The Dera chief was airlifted to Rohtak, where he has been lodged in the district jail in Sunaria, nearly 10 km on the outskirts the town. The decision to airlift him was taken as part of strategy as Dera followers could have created problem for the security personnel had he been taken by road. We used tear gas, lathi-charge, pellet bullets and fired on them (protesters) where arson was reported. As a strategy, we didn't take Ram Rahim Singh to Ambala but Rohtak's Sunaria jail where he is present right now. It would have been very difficult to take him to Ambala jail as Dera followers were there on the way," he added, as per ANI.

Self-styled 'godman' Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was today convicted of rape by a court here, triggering widespread violence and arson in Haryana.

Arson by the frenzied followers of the head of Dera Sacha Sauda was also witnessed in Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan within a few hours of the pronouncement of the judgement by the CBI court here in a rape case.

CBI judge Jagdeep Singh held Ram Rahim, 50, guilty of rape in a case that was registered on the basis of an anonymous written complaint in 2002 that he had sexually exploited two female followers.

On the basis of the report, a case was registered against him in December 2002 by the CBI on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The quantum of sentence against Ram Rahim, who enjoys 'Z' category security, will be pronounced on August 28, CBI counsel HPS Verma told reporters outside the court.

The punishment can be a jail term not less than seven years but may even extend to life imprisonment.

Ram Rahim travelled to the court from Sirsa, about 260 kms from Chandigarh, in a huge convoy of vehicles which had his security guards and several followers.

As the news spread and his thousands of followers gathered near the Panchkula court went on the rampage, Ram Rahim was taken by a helicopter to a jail in Rohtak.

His followers unleashed violence and set afire a large number of vehicles, buildings and railway stations in Panchkula, otherwise a peaceful city on the outskirts of Chandigarh, as well as in Sirsa, where the dera is based, and in Punjab.

Media persons and assets were among the main targets of the mobs.

Police and paramilitary used force, including firing and lobbing teargas shells, to control the volatile situation created by the dera followers who had gathered in thousands defying the prohibitory orders like Section 144 of the CrPC, which bars assembly of more than four people at one place.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar tonight admitted that there were lapses but asserted that appropriate action was being taken.

"This should not have happened... Lapses have been identified and we are taking appropriate steps," he told reporters responding to a volley of questions, as per PTI.

"All those who have taken law into their hands will be punished. We have identified some culprits including those who fired (from the mob at security forces), some of whom have been nabbed and action will be taken against them," he said.

The government will assess the damage, he added.

Khattar ducked a question on how thousands of Dera followers managed to reach Panchkula despite Section 144 being imposed much earlier.

(With Agency inputs)