Janjivan Bureau / Chandigarh: As many as 20 people have died and scores of them injured as violence broke out in Punjab and Haryana with Panchkula bearing the brunt of violence. At least 20 bodies and several injured have reached the Panchkula civil hospital.Curfew in Panchkula, Ferozepur, Bathinda, Mansa; clashes with police, banks, govt offices attacked
Minutes after Sirsa Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted of rape by a special CBI court, his followers went on the rampage torching public property.
Five-star Hotel Holiday Inn in Sector 3, Income Tax office in Sector 2, and petrol pump in Sector 4 have been put on fire and completely destroyed. Panchkula’s skyline turned black.
Dera followers targeted the media. An OB van was set on fire and two others were damaged in Panchkula. A print media cameraman was hurt and his camera damaged. Security forces used teargas shells to disperse the mob in Sector 3 of Panchkula, which seemed out of control.
LIVEUPDATES
* Curfew imposed in Panchkula; petrol pump in Sector 4 and Income Tax office in Sector 2 targeted
*In Punjab’s Mansa, two vehicles of Income Tax department were torched
*In Ludhiana, police ask shopkeepers at the railway station and on Ferozepur Road to close shops
*In Mansa, additional forces are rushed
*In Ferozepur, DC/SSP meet Premis exhorting them to maintain peace
*In Sangrur, miscreants set Lehragaga tehsil office on fire and try to set the fard kender on fire
*Curfew clamped in Ferozepur, Mansa and Bathinda
*Panchkula: Violent dera followers, who have outnumbered the cops on duty, have broken police cordon at Sectors 4-5 roundabout and have started marching towards the court complex in Sector 1. There are also reports of stone pelting by the mob and scuffles with the security forces and media. The cops on duty seem helpless even as the Army has taken over the law and order situation in Panchkula. Situation has turned highly volatile and the locals have locked themselves indoors, fearing violence.
Rohtak: Jail authorities have no official information about the shifting of Gurmeet Ram Rahim here
However, tight security arrangements have been made outside district jail
One jail official confirmed that he may be shifted to Rohtak jail
After the verdict, traders lowered the shutters of their shops as a precautionary measure
Market areas being shut down in Kurukshetra. Dera followers gathering at naam charcha ghar. Administration on alert
Muktsar: Nearly 25 masked men hurled petrol bombs at a petrol pump at Burj Sidhwan village in Lambi in Muktsar. Jagdish Singh, husband of village sarpanch, confirms it. Fire doused.
TV reports say three dera supporters die in Panchkula
Muktsar: Some masked men came on two motorcycles and lob petrol bombs on Telephone Exchange at Tappakhera village in Lambi in Muktsar. Gurjinder Singh village sarpanch confirms it. He claimed miscreants also fired in air.
New Delhi. Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh to be taken to Western Command Chandimandir. From there he will be taken in helicopter to jail nominated by Haryana. The western Command entrance is some 2 km from the court in Panchkula
