Uneasy calm at ‘godman’ headquarters
Supporters of Indian guru return home after violent protest that left 36 dead
NEW DELHI: Thousands of supporters of an Indian quasi-religious sect leader left his headquarters in northern India as authorities relaxed a curfew a day ahead of his sentencing for rape.
They responded to an appeal by authorities to go home after thousands of followers violently protested the guru’s rape conviction, which left at least 36 people dead in Panchkula and Sirsa towns in Haryana state on Friday.
The guru faces seven years to life in prison.
Police spokesman Surjeet Singh said the curfew imposed in Sirsa town, where the headquarters is located, was relaxed for five hours yesterday to help people buy food and other essential items and for outsiders to return home.
The presence of nearly 10,000 people in the guru’s headquarters raised fears that they may turn violent again after their leader is sentenced today.
The judge will hold the proceedings in a prison in Rohtak town, where the guru, who calls himself Saint Dr Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insaan, has been detained since Friday amid tight security.
Hundreds of government forces, including the army, have been posted outside the sect’s headquarters since Friday’s violence, when mobs set fire to government buildings, vandalised bus stations and government vehicles and attacked police and TV journalists in Panchkula.
Police said that 30 people died in Panchkula and another six in Sirsa while 524 were arrested.
The guru denied the charges of raping the two women at his ashram in 2002.
The sect claims to have about 50 million followers and campaigns for vegetarianism and against drug addiction, as well as taking up social causes such as organising the weddings of poor couples.
Such sects have huge followings in India and their leaders often maintain private militias for protection. — AP