GURU FOLLOWERS END IMPASSE WITH ARMY
36 were killed when Ram Rahim Singh’s loyalists went on a rampage on Friday
SIRSA (India)
THOUSANDS of supporters of a controversial Indian guru ended a tense standoff with soldiers yesterday, avoiding renewed violence after their leader’s rape conviction sparked riots in which at least 36 people died.
Followers of Ram Rahim Singh, whose loyalists went on a rampage after he was found guilty on Friday, began trickling out one by one under army guard from the compound of their spiritual headquarters in Sirsa, a town in the northern state of Haryana.
Hundreds of soldiers and riot police had blocked approaches to the premises spread over 404ha and were urging those holed up inside to surrender.
Indian authorities have been on high alert here and Panchkula, the city where Singh faced judgment, since rioting and arson broke out minutes after the selfstyled godman was found guilty of raping two of his followers.
Police said at least 36 people Fireworks lighting up the sky during the Spasskaya Tower International Military Orchestra Music Festival in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday. were killed as tens of thousands of followers went on the rampage, attacking television vans and setting fire to dozens of vehicles.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said yesterday it was “natural to be worried” amid days of violence, which even briefly reached the capital New Delhi.
“Violence is not acceptable in the nation, in any form.
“Those who take law in their hands or take to violence will not be spared, whoever they are,” Modi said.
A curfew imposed in the town was briefly lifted yesterday to allow Singh’s followers to leave the headquarters.
Singh will be sentenced today at the prison where he is being held in Rohtak. AFP