Sikh-Dera clash leaves one dead
| Published: Saturday, 19 July, 2008, 08:05 AM Doha Time |
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| Sikhs protest against the Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Ram Rahim Singh in Chandigarh yesterday |
Sikh activists set nearly 15 shops and about 10 houses belonging to the Dera sect followers ablaze in Dabwali town after the Sikh man was killed yesterday morning.
Trouble started after about 10 Sikh activists tried to stop a ‘naam charcha’ (prayer meeting) of the Dera followers in this town on the border of Punjab and Haryana, about 350km from state capital Chandigarh.
Dera followers retaliated by pelting stones, and in the ensuing violence, a Sikh activist, Mandar Singh, was killed. Police said he had sustained a head injury.
The death triggered retaliatory violence by the Sikh community as they set fire to several establishments belong to Dera followers.
District officials and police reinforcements rushed to the spot to maintain law and order. The police were put on alert in Sirsa town, where the headquarters of the sect led by Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh is located.
Gurmit Ram Rahim has been involved in a controversy with the Sikh community since May last year after he attired himself like the 10th Sikh guru, Gobind Singh, during a ceremony. This led to violence in Punjab, Haryana and several other states as Sikhs protested the Dera chief’s actions and demanded his arrest.
The hostility between the sect and Sikhs was re-ignited last month when a private security guard of the Dera chief killed a Sikh youth outside a Mumbai mall when some Sikhs protested Gurmit Ram Rahim’s presence there. – IANS
Saturday, July 19, 2008 (New Delhi)
The situation in Haryana's Sirsa district continues to remain tense after clashes between a group of Sikhs and the supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda on Friday night in which one person was killed and 30 injured.
Violence had spread to nearby areas after the Sikhs attacked an ashram belonging to the Dera and set it on fire.
Army has been put on standby in case of an emergency and both Punjab and Haryana have been put on high alert.
The Dera chief Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been at loggerheads with the Sikh clergy for alleged blasphemy after he wore clothes similar to those of Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.
Violence had spread to nearby areas after the Sikhs attacked an ashram belonging to the Dera and set it on fire.
Army has been put on standby in case of an emergency and both Punjab and Haryana have been put on high alert.
The Dera chief Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been at loggerheads with the Sikh clergy for alleged blasphemy after he wore clothes similar to those of Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.
