Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh: At least 29 dead in India after 'godman' conviction sparks riots
Updated 26 Aug 2017, 7:06amSat 26 Aug 2017, 7:06am
Video: Riots break out in the north Indian town Panchkula (Photo: AP/Altaf Qadri) (ABC News)
At least 29 people have been killed in violent protests in India after a court convicted a self-styled "godman" of raping two women, angering thousands of his supporters who said he was innocent.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the head of a social welfare and spiritual group, was found guilty of raping two female followers in a case dating back to 2002 at the headquarters of his Dera Sacha Sauda group in the northern town of Sirsa.
Supporters rampaged in response, attacking railway stations, petrol stations and television vans in towns across the northern states of Punjab and Haryana soon after the verdict was announced, witnesses said.
At least 29 people have been reported dead and more than 250 people were injured in the two states, said BS Sandhu, a top Haryana police official.
Dozens of cars were burning in Panchkula while a bloodied body lay in the middle of a road. About 500 army soldiers were deployed to restore order.
Bupinder Jishtu said he narrowly escaped the protesters' fury.
"They have burnt my vehicle the devotees of Baba Ram Rahim, in front of me. They have burnt almost 50 vehicles on front of me, and I have saved my life, I got out of the way," he told Saturday AM.
Federal home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi later said the situation was "coming under control".
A doctor at a hospital in Panchkula told the ABC between 50 and 60 people had been injured, and television footage showed medical staff hurriedly transferring injured patients from ambulances onto wheelchairs and stretchers outside a hospital.
Bleeding profusely from his foot was Ravinder Singh, a man who appeared to be in his early 30s.
"I was shot," he told AM.
"Because our Guruji, our teacher, was targeted."
'Justice has prevailed'
A curfew was imposed in three districts in Punjab which are strongholds of the Dera Sacha Sauda group.
"There has been violence in some towns in Punjab, we are taking all measures to maintain peace," the state's chief minister said.
Singh commands a following that he claims is in the millions, and supporters started gathering in the streets outside the court in Panchkula on Thursday.
"The court has convicted Ram Rahim Singh of rape charges," lawyer Kohal Dev Sharma said.
"Justice has finally prevailed."
The sentencing will be announced later in the month, media reported. Mr Sharma said Singh faced a minimum of seven years in prison.
'We must respect the law'
Singh, a burly, bearded man who has scripted and starred in his own films, denied the rape charge.
He had called on his followers through a video message to remain peaceful.
"We all must respect the law and maintain peace," he said.
Some Indian holy men can summon thousands of supporters on to the streets.
Their systems of patronage and sermons are hugely popular with people who think the government has failed them.
Mobile internet services were also suspended in the states of Haryana and Punjab to stop people from spreading rumours and causing unrest, Mr Niwas said.
In 2014, the attempted arrest of another guru on murder charges ended with his followers attacking police with clubs and stones.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-25/more-than-29-dead-in-india-after-godman-conviction-protests/8844388
