Clashes after Ram Rahim verdict: Rajnath to review situation in north India today

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has called a security review meeting on Saturday in the wake of widespread violence in Haryana triggered by the conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case.

At least 30 people were killed and 250 injured on Friday in widespread violence, arson and police firing at Panchkula and nearby areas after the verdict.

Top home ministry officials, chiefs of paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies will attend the meeting to take stock of the situation in north India, an official said.

Singh has already spoken to chief ministers of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, and assured them central assistance to deal with any situation.

The central government has already dispatched around 20,000 paramilitary personnel to Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh to assist the local administration in maintaining law and order.

Thousands of followers of Ram Rahim went on the rampage, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after a special CBI court convicted him in a 2002 rape case.

The unrest which began in Panchkula where the verdict was handed down, spread to other parts of Haryana and Punjab and even New Delhi where a bus and train were set on fire.