30 dead, 250 injured in violence in Haryana after Gurmeet verdict

PANCHKULA (INDIA): At least 30 people were killed and 250 injured today in widespread violence, arson and police firing in Haryana triggered by the rape conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.nnWhile 28 people were killed in Panchkula, the epicentre of the violence, two died in Sirsa, doctors said. Sirsa is the headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda of which Ram Rahim, 50, is its chief.nnThousands of followers of Ram Rahim went on the rampage, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after a special CBI court convicted him in a 2002 rape case.nnPolice responded by opening fire.nnThe unrest which began in Panchkula where the verdict was handed down, spread to other parts of Haryana and Punjab and even New Delhi where a bus and train were set on fire.nnThe identity of the dead or whether all of them were Dera supporters was not known immediately.nn”Seventeen people are dead and at least 200 are injured,” said Vivek Bhadu, Chief Medical Officer at the civil hospital in Panchkula.nnWhile five were brought dead, 12 others succumbed to injuries at the civil hospital, Bhadu said, adding that most of the deaths were due to bullet injuries.nnNearly 50 persons were referred to PGIMER hospital at Chandigarh while 33 others were rushed to Government Medical College and Hospital(GMCH), also at Chandigarh.nn”Seven have died in PGIMER,” Manju Wadwalkar, the spokesperson of Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research(PGIMER) told PTI.nnThe details of how many were brought dead or died at PGI were not immediately available.nnDr Ravi Gupta, head of the GMCH at Sector 32, said 33 persons were brought to the hospital from Panchkula.nn”While we could not resuscitate one person, another died during surgery and two others were brought dead,” Gupta told PTI.nnAccording to Sirsa District Civil Surgeon, 2 Dera followers had died in the violence.nnHaryana DGP B S Sandhu, who visited the civil hospital at Sector 6 here, said that over a thousand Dera followers have been taken into custody.nn”Dera followers have been flushed out of Panchkula while over a thousand have been taken into preventive custody,” Sandhu said, adding the situation here is under control.nnA stream of ambulances brought in injured people soaked in blood to the civil hospital here and at PGIMER hospital.nnPolice fired in the air, lobbed tear gas and let loose water cannons on the protesters who included a large number of women.nnCurfew was also clamped in Panchkula.nnCurfew was also imposed in place in Sirsa while Kaithal town was also brought under curfew this evening.nnAt least 32 incidents of violence and arson were reported from Malwa region of Punjab, police said. However, no casualty was reported.nnCurfew was clamped in Mansa, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Patiala, Sangrur and Barnala and Faridkot, the areas considered as stronghold of the Dera followers.nnBut the curfew had little effect on the protesters, who also set fire to Malout and Balluanna railway stations in Punjab, according to the Northern Railways. Many motorcycles, cars and buildings, including an Income Tax building in Mansa in Punjab, were also set on fire.nnArsonists attempted to set fire to Dagru railway station which falls between Moga and Ferozepur, police said.nnHowever, a Sewa Kendra was set on fire near Faridkot.nnSix columns of Army, comprising a total of 500 to 600 soldiers were deployed in Panchkula.nnAt least three OB vans of private television channels were damaged here. Two vans were overturned by a mob.nnThe India Today Group’s TV channel showed pictures of its correspondent and cameraman being attacked while they were travelling in a van in Sirsa, the Dera’s headquarters. The camera captured images of the windshield and windows being struck by men with sticks.nnThe glass shattered and one of the occupants of the van was heard moaning. The video then showed his bloodied face.nnThe police fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells on sections of the crowds, many of them camping since last night on the streets of Panchkula.nnCBI judge Jagdeep Singh, while holding the Dera chief guilty of raping a female follower more than 15 years ago, said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on August 28.nnThe punishment can be a jail term of not less than seven years but may even extend to life imprisonment.nnSource: Press Trust of India