Chandigarh: Haryana and Punjab maintained a maximum warning before the court ruling in a rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda’s chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on Friday.
As a precautionary measure, the government ordered the closure of schools and colleges in the Panchkula district on August 24 and 25, Panchkula Deputy Commissioner Gauri Parashar Joshi told PTI.
It is estimated that more than 35,000 followers of the Dera have already reached and many more are still arriving at the ‘Naam Charcha Ghar’ (prayer center/congregation) of the Sector-23 sect in Panchkula to show their solidarity with the head of the sect, Who has been asked to appear in person in the CBI’s special court on Friday. Joshi said the administration and police were watching to ensure that law and order were maintained.
There are strong deployments of police and paramilitary forces near the routes leading to the district court compound in Panchkula, where lawyers have suspended work for three days from today to avoid disturbing the public who visit the courts.
When asked if Dera’s boss will appear in court in Panchkula on Friday, a spokeswoman for Dera Sacha Sauda said Wednesday that the sect and its head have always followed the law and will do so in the future as well.
“We have always followed the due process of law, we have never gone outside the law and we will never do it again,” he said.
When asked whether Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh will appeal to his followers to help maintain law and order and peace, he said, “during his Satsangs (at the head of the sect at Sirsa) in the morning and at night, Guru Ji always talks about humanity and things that benefits humanity, talks about planting trees, donating organs, donating blood and helping weaker sections.
Security forces in Haryana and Punjab have been carrying out flag marches in many sensitive locations. The Haryana government has already closed the prohibition orders in all its districts as a precautionary measure.
