Curfew to be imposed in Punjab 's Barnala from tomorrow: SSP Barnala

Barnala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Harjeet Singh on Monday said that a curfew will be imposed in Punjab 's Barnala from tomorrow.

The SSP said that the curfew will be imposed from 9 a.m. till 9 p.m.tomorrow.

This came after 10-year sentence by a Special CBI judge handed down to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

Meanwhile, security forces carried out a flag march in Barnala after the sentencing.

"Environment is peaceful after the announcement of sentence and adequate security arrangements have been given therefore no untoward incident will happen," Barnala SP Swarn Singh told ANI.

Also the police in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have upped the vigilance and precautionary measures in districts adjacent to Delhi and Haryana after the sentence to the Dera chief.

The police in Uttar Pradesh has increased the level of security in the state as 12 districts of the state have as many as 18 Dera ashrams. In addition to it, ten companies have been assigned to look over the security of eight districts in NCR.

Earlier in the day, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar presided over an emergency meeting at his residence in Chandigarh.

The meeting was attended by senior officials of the state, including party leaders and ministers.

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has appealed for peace and said that the sentence must be accepted by all.

"So there is nothing for us to say rather than to say to the people to accept the decision. There is total normalcy. Our forces are on their toes. We will not let any untoward incident happen. This sentence must be accepted by the people and peace must prevail," Singh told ANI.

Ram Rahim, who was held guilty on charges of rape of a female devotee in 1999, was, earlier in the day, sentenced to ten years of imprisonment by the Special CBI Court of Panchkula.

The Special CBI judge Jagdeep Singh had allotted 10 minutes to both sides to put forth their arguments. The prosecution reportedly had demanded the maximum punishment for the rape convict.

The defence had argued that Ram Rahim was a social worker, who had worked for the welfare of people, so the judge should take a lenient view.

Just minutes before the pronouncement of the sentence, two cars were reportedly torched by Dera Sacha Sauda supporters in the Phoolka area of Haryana's Sirsa district.

Ram Rahim was convicted on charges of rape on August 25 by the Special CBI Court.

The rape case was registered by the CBI in April 2002 against the self-styled god man after allegations of sexual exploitation of two women followers. The then prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had received an anonymous letter from a Dera Sadhvi that she was being raped by Ram Rahim.

Following Ram Rahim's conviction on Friday, his 'bhakts' went on a rampage in Haryana's Panchkula and Sirsa, demanding justice for their leader and Punjab, Haryana and their neighbouring states have, since, been on the edge.