As many as 17 people are reported to be dead as violence breaks out in Punjab, Haryana soon after Sirsa Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted of rape by a special CBI court, his followers went on the rampage torching public property.
Curfew in Panchkula, Ferozepur, Bathinda, Mansa; clashes with police, banks, govt offices attacked.
Five-star Hotel Holiday Inn in Sector 3, Income Tax office in Sector 2, and petrol pump in Sector 4 have been put on fire and completely destroyed. Panchkula’s skyline turned black.As many as 17 bodies have arrived at the Panchkula civil hospital.Dera followers targeted the media. An OB van was set on fire and two others were damaged in Panchkula. A print media cameraman was hurt and his camera damaged. Security forces used teargas shells to disperse the mob in Sector 3 of Panchkula, which seemed out of control.
LIVEUPDATES
* Curfew imposed in Panchkula; petrol pump in Sector 4 and Income Tax office in Sector 2 targeted*In Punjab’s Mansa, two vehicles of Income Tax department were torched
*In Ludhiana, police ask shopkeepers at the railway station and on Ferozepur Road to close shops
*In Mansa, additional forces are rushed
*In Ferozepur, DC/SSP meet Premis exhorting them to maintain peace
*In Sangrur, miscreants set Lehragaga tehsil office on fire and try to set the fard kender on fire
*Curfew clamped in Ferozepur, Mansa and Bathinda*Panchkula: Violent dera followers, who have outnumbered the cops on duty, have broken police cordon at Sectors 4-5 roundabout and have started marching towards the court complex in Sector 1.
There are also reports of stone pelting by the mob and scuffles with the security forces and media. The cops on duty seem helpless even as the Army has taken over the law and order situation in Panchkula. Situation has turned highly volatile and the locals have locked themselves indoors, fearing violence.
Curfew imposed in Faridkot
Situation is tense in Kotkapura and Faridkot as all shop shutters have been pulled down after the verdict Muktsar: Security beefed up outside former CM Parkash Singh Badal’s residence at Badal village Even as Mohali was peaceful so far, Deputy Commissioner Gurpreet Kaur Sapra says the Army has been called in the town as a precautionary measure. She says around 6,000 dera followers provided safe passage and buses to return home from Panchkula through Zirakpur