Police probing ‘supari’ claim for dera violence
CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Police are investigating claims that top Dera Sacha Sauda functionaries paid a ‘supari’ (contract) of Rs 5 crore to criminal elements to instigate violence in Panchkula and other places after sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s conviction for rape.
Haryana director general of police (DGP) BS Sandhu said that the matter was under investigation. “We are investigating this. We are trying to nab two Dera functionaries, Chamkaur Singh and Nain, who are said to be involved in this,” he said.
The disgraced sect chief was convicted by a special CBI court on August 25 for the rape of two female disciples in 1999. He was sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.
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. Police sources said that interrogation of some of the arrested Dera activists had revealed a plot in which Rs 5 crore was paid as ‘supari’ to criminal elements to instigate violence.
The Haryana Police had, last week, arrested five dera followers in Ambala city and recovered ₹38 lakh in cash from them, and are investigating the money link from the Dera side to instigate violence. Security was tightened around the Dera headquarters near Sirsa town on Wednesday following the approval granted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the Haryana government to search and sanitise the premises.