Dera chief’s vehicle hit, tension in Sirsa

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh today escaped unhurt when his vehicle came under attack in a clash between his followers and the Sikh community in a village in Sirsa leaving five persons injured and fomenting tension in the area after which paramilitary forces were deployed.

The incident occurred in Gukanwale village in Sirsa when the Dera chief, on his way from Rajasthan to Dera headquarters, halted his vehicle in the village on the insistence of his followers, Sirsa Deputy Commissioner V Uma Shanker said.

Police sources said they fired tear gas shell to disperse the protestors who pelted stones at each other which hit the vehicle of the Dera chief but he escaped unhurt. Tension gripped Sirsa town following the incident leading to deployment of para military forces in addition to police.

Shanker said “we had advised Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh not to halt anywhere along the way, but he stopped in the village after his followers insisted on and this aggravated the situation”.