Wary of violence, Army nears Dera HQ in Sirsa ahead of Rahim sentencing

Sirsa: The Army has reached Sirsa, the headquarters of the Dera Sacha Sauda, as the sect’s chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh awaits sentencing in a Rohtak jail for rape.

The Army anticipates more violence Monday, when the sentence will be given by a special CBI court that convicted Ram Rahim of the crime on Friday. Following the conviction Dera Sacha Sauda followers went on a rampage that resulted in the death of 31 people.

Police are already patrolling in Sirsa where the sprawling 1000-acre headquarters of the Dera Sacha Sauda is situated.

Meanwhile, Sirsa sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Paramjit Singh Chahal said the Army has not been given any order so far to enter the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters, even as the defiant followers of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh stay put at the campus.

"There is still no order for the Army to enter the campus. They are only ensuring enforcement of curfew in the area," Chahal said.

The Army along with the police and paramilitary forces has put up barricades at entry points of the Dera Sacha Sauda premises.

Chahal said that a high-level meeting between the Army and the state authorities was underway. 

An estimated one lakh people, including women and children, were present in the Dera headquarters. 

The Army and district authorities have been appealing through loudspeakers, asking those inside to leave the premises.

Fifteen Dera followers have been arrested since Friday night in Sirsa, police said.
"We will not spare those who have taken the law in their hands. We will take strict action against then," IG (Hisar) A S Dillo said outside the Dera headquarters.

With inputs from PTI.