Security was stepped up in Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh districts of northern Rajasthan, bordering Punjab and Haryana, on Friday after some violent incidents were reported following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of Cr.P.C. were imposed in both the districts.
A group of unidentified persons torched a jeep parked inside a power house in Sriganganagar when the information about the judgement passed by a CBI court at Panchkula in neighbouring Haryana spread. Police said two power houses in the rural areas of the district and a building of Labour Department in the city were also set on fire.
A portion of the employment exchange in Sriganganagar was damaged and the files lying in the office were destroyed. The violent crowd fled from the spot and none of the accused could be arrested.
Security was also beefed up in Gurusar Modiya village in Surtagarh tehsil, 38 km from Sriganganagar, which is the birthplace of Ram Rahim Singh. There are 24 'Deras' in Sriganganagar and Hunumangarh districts, where a large number of Dera followers reside.
Sriganganagar Collector Gyana Ram declared holiday in all schools in the district on Saturday in view of the tension prevailing after the Dera chief's conviction. The mobile internet services have been blocked for 48 hours in the two districts.
The Rajasthan Roadways has suspended plying of buses from the two districts on the Haryana and Chandigarh routes, while the North-Western Railway partially cancelled some passenger trains and changed the timings of other trains in the region.
