Janjivan Bureau / Chandigarh: Ahead of search and sanitation operations, Dera Sacha Sauda’s mouthpiece “Sach Kahoon” had admitted that human remains were buried inside the premises.
The Dera newspaper, while defending the action of the Dera management in burying the human remains, said this was done as sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh encouraged followers to donate the remains to the sect for burial and prevent these from being immersed in rivers etc., causing pollution.
The newspaper claimed that the human remains were buried within the campus and trees were planted on these.
Some persons, who were earlier associated with the sect but left it later, have alleged that the sect chief got killed those who opposed his activities and got them buried inside the 70-acre campus of the sect.
Ram Rahim was convicted on two counts of rape of two female disciples in 1999 by a CBI Special Court in Panchkula on August 25. He was later sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and is currently lodged in the District Jail at Sunaria near Rohtak.
His conviction led to violence in Panchkula and Sirsa in Haryana, leaving 38 people dead and 264 injured. Isolated incidents of violence were also reported from Delhi and several other places in Punjab.
Security has been tightened around the Dera headquarters near Sirsa town following the search in the premises.
The Dera is spread over two campuses, 600 acres and over 100 acres, about eight km from Sirsa town and 260 km from Chandigarh.
Authorities in Haryana have carried out sanitisation of 117 “Naam Charcha Ghars” associated with the Dera, where its followers assemble for prayers and discussions.
The sprawling Dera headquarters houses a stadium, a hospital, educational institutions, a resort, houses, markets and other infrastructure. Huge bungalows of the sect chief (spread over nearly 100 acres) and his family members are also located inside. Hundreds of people and sect followers permanently live inside the mini-township and work there.
