Dera chief sentencing: Tight vigil in Haryana and Punjab

TIL Desk/National/Chandigarh/ Haryana and Punjab were on high alert today with elaborate security arrangements in place, particularly in sensitive areas to deal with any situation following the sentencing of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh by a CBI court in Sunaira jail in Rohtak.

A multi-layer security cordon manned by police and 23 companies of paramilitary forces has been thrown in and around Rohtak and also around the Sunaria Jail, which lies on the outskirts of the city limits. The Army has been kept on standby.

Authorities are geared up to prevent a repeat of the mayhem on Friday last following the 50-year-old sect chief’s conviction. The violence claimed 32 lives in Panchkula and six in Sirsa, besides leaving over 260 injured. Rohtak Deputy Commissioner Atul Kumar said police will not hesitate in opening fire at those spreading violence.

CBI Judge Jagdeep Singh is being flown to Rohtak and the sentence is expected to be handed out at around 2:30 pm. “Maintaining law and order is the top priority for the Haryana Police today,” DGP B S Sandhu said. A special court room has been made within the Sunaria jail, Rohtak Range IG, Navdeep Singh Virk said. “The judge will be flown in by a special helicopter and will land in the helipad near to the Sunaria jail (on the outskirts of Rohtak city),” Virk said.