NewDelhi: A special CBI court in Panchkula will deliver the verdict in a 15-year-old sexual exploitation involving Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim at 2:30 pm on Friday afternoon. The Dera chief’s convoy has now left for the court from Sirsa.
Rahim, fondly called ‘baba ji‘ and ‘pita ji’, has over 60 million followers – mostly from Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh. Over 2 lakh Dera followers have been camping in Panchkula. Fearing riots, if the verdict goes against the Dera chief, nearly 53 companies of paramilitary forces and 50000 personnel of Haryana Police have also been deployed. Internet and mobile services have been suspended for 72 hours in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh while schools and colleges will remain closed.
Live news updates of the Gurmeet Ram Rahim rape trial:
“We have literally been holed up in our homes. We are not moving out as thousands of Dera followers are stationed in our locality for the past three days,” housewife Deepika Narang, a resident of Sector 6 in Panchkula, told IANS.
The residents of the tricity – Mohali, Chandigarh and Panchkula – have been facing several problems over the last two days. There’s no availability of milk and other essentials, said Narang.
Dera chief Ram Rahim verdict: Chandigarh, Panchkula wear deserted look
Watch: Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh leaving for CBI court in Panchkula from Sirsa with his convoy.
Dera supporters assemble in large number to catch glimpse of Gurmeet Ram Rahim
Several Dera followers faint as Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s convoy passed them in Sirsa.
Dera followers cry and try to block Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s convoy in Sirsa,
As soon as the news of Dera chief’s convoy starting from Sirsa emerged, excited premis were involved in a frenzy of activities in Panchkula.
Ignoring appeals from the state administration and Dera chief Ram Rahim, a large number of Dera followers remained in Panchkula, giving a tough time to authorities.
Dera followers ignore appeals to move out of Panchkula
The 50-year-old Dera chief has left the sect-headquarters at Sirsa, about 260 km from Chandigarh, at about 9 am amid tight security. “He has left Sirsa by road,” Sirsa Deputy Commissioner, Prabhjot Singh told PTI over phone.
The Dera chief, who enjoys ‘Z’ category security, is also being accompanied a number of his own security guards in a cavalcade. It will take him around three hours to reach the court, a police official said.
All shops, ATMs, cinema halls, petrol pumps, schools and offices located near Dera headquarters in Sirsa remained closed today.
It takes about 4.5 hours to cover the 245-kilometers distance between Panchkula and Sirsa.
The police has refused to reveal details of the route taken by the Singh to maintain law and order.
Bureau Report
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