2007 haunts Bathinda
BATHINDA: A grocery shop in Talwandi Sabo near Bathinda has customers from nearby villages on both side soft he Punjab-Ha ryan a border. But, for last two days, sales have nosedived as people have decided not to travel unless. The owner does not even want to be identified for this report, as anxiety and fear of violence envelop the region ahead of the August 25 verdict in a rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
In the southern districts of Punjab that have a large number of der a followers, especially in the rural areas of Bathinda, barely 100 km from the der a headquarters Si rs a in Ha ryan a, memories accentuate fears. People are still haunted by the violence triggered in May 2007 after Gurmeet Ram Rahim allegedly mimicked the 10th Sikh master, Guru Gobind Singh, at a religious congregation at Salabatpura village of Bathinda district.
After the case of alleged blasphemy— the court case has been closed after the complaint was withdrawn—Punjab and Haryan a had witnessed bloody clash es between the Sikhs who took offence and the dera’s followers.
Ever since the CBI court in Pan ch ku las aid it will pronounce its verdict in the rape case on August 25, der a followers, known as‘ pr em is ’, have been congregating at Sirsa and Panchkula.
Here, too, people fear a verdict against the dera head might lead to violent protests by the followers, though there is no direct link of Sikh groups with the case and the complain ants are two female ex-followers of the dera.
Three people were killed in Punjab and hundreds were injured during the clashes. Schools were officially closed for two days but residents said that parents didn’t send their wards for more than a week. More than 50 police men were injured during the clashes in Bathinda. Some dera followers burnt buses in Bathinda and Mansa. Residents said that an undeclared curfew prevailed for nearly 10 days.
Now, the Bathinda-Kalawanwali road that leads towards Si rs a wears a deserted look as people avoid the tense environment. The dera claims it has 1 crore followers in Punjab and Haryana, and they don’t want their sect’s chief to even appear in court on the scheduled day of the verdict.
Owner of a cloth shop at Kalanwali in Haryana said peace should be maintained and law should take its own course. Most others preferred to stay quiet even off the record.
Meanwhile, parents in several localities have decided not to send their wards to school on August 25. Transporters have asked schools them to declare holiday.