The Army deployed 24 columns across Haryana and Punjab by Saturday, even as it denied any immediate plan to enter the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa. About a lakh devotees of Gurmeet Ram Rahim, head of the sect and rape convict, are holed up on the premises.
A senior Army officer said 24 columns had been deployed in the two States.
But the Army’s sizeable deployment is in Panchkula, where 12 columns are at the ready.
Panchkula, where the trial court is located, witnessed massive violence, resulting in death of at least 28 people in the township.
Eight columns in Sirsa
Eight Army columns are deployed in Sirsa, while two each are in Mansa and Muktsar.
Each Army column has a minimum of 80 troops.
The Army officially clarified that it had no immediate plan to enter the Dera Sacha Sauda’s headquarters, a sprawling compound where tens of thousands of followers of the controversial guru are holed up.
The devotees, among them a large number of women and children, have refused to disperse despite repeated appeals by the authorities.
The Army, the police and paramilitary forces have set up barricades at entry points of the sect headquarters.
Major-General Rajpal Punia, General Officer Commanding, Hisar- based 33 Division, told presspersons, “There is some confusion that the Army is going inside the Dera campus. At the moment, there is no such plan.”
The clarifications came after some media reports about Army entering the premises, which further precipitated tension the region.
The senior officer said he would be going to the sect headquarters to ask the Dera management to vacate the premises. Asked if the sect followers will be evacuated from the headquarters, he said, “We will come back to you.”
