Two cars torched in Sirsa by Dera followers

Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) followers allegedly set two cars on fire near the sect headquarters on the outskirts of Sirsa town on Monday, just minutes before its chief was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in a rape case.

Security forces rushed to Phulkan village to control the situation.

Security deployment, including Army and para-military forces, continued around the two campuses of the sect near Sirsa and curfew continued in affected areas of the district on Monday.

"We are in control of the situation. We have shown restraint so far. Some Dera followers are still present inside the sect headquarters," V. Umashankar, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon, told media here.

He said that a couple of thousand Dera followers were still inside the sect campus.

Rape convict DSS chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was on Monday sentenced to 10 years in jail for the rape and criminal intimidation of two female disciples.

The quantum of sentence was announced by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court judge Jagdeep Singh at a specially set up court inside the library of the District Jail in Sunaria near Rohtak town in Haryana.

The CBI judge had on Friday held the Dera chief guilty of rape and criminal intimidation of the two female disciples in 1999. The complaint in the case was filed in 2002.

--IANS

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