WHY PUNJAB MORE VULNERABLE

Even as the dera is headquartered in Haryana, and the rape case judgment against its chief will be pronounced in Haryana’s Panchkula, Punjab is more prone to violence in the wake of a judgment against him. “We already have a tussle between dera followers and Sikh hardliners. Even if the court acquits him and his followers celebrate, Sikh hardliners may protest,” a senior intelligence official said. From hardliners’ camp, leaders may be taken into preventive custody.