At least 13 dead in North India in violent protests after “godman” found guilty of rape
At least 13 people have died in North India in violent protests after a court on Friday convicted a self-styled “godman” guilty of rape, a senior state police official said.
“Thirteen deaths have been confirmed so far in Panchkula and two are critically injured,” a police official at the Haryana Police headquarters in Panchkula, a city in north India, told Reuters by phone.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the head of a social welfare and spiritual group, was held guilty of raping two women followers in a case dating back to 2002 at the headquarters of his Dera Sacha Sauda group in the northern town of Sirsa.
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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.
“There has been violence in some towns in Punjab, we are taking all measures to maintain peace,” said the state chief minister Amarinder Singh.
Singh commands a following that he claims is in the millions. Supporters started gathering in the streets outside the court in Panchkula town on Thursday.
“The court has convicted Ram Rahim Singh of rape charges,” Kohal Dev Sharma, a lawyer at the court said.
“Justice has finally prevailed.”
Singh’s sentencing will be announced later in the month, media reported. Sharma said he faced a minimum of seven years in prison.
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.
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“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 consider the government has failed them.
Authorities had earlier imposed a curfew in Sirsa and ordered thousands of Singh’s followers to go home.
Mobile internet services had also been suspended in the states of Haryana and Punjab to stop people from spreading rumours and causing unrest, senior government official Ram Niwas said.
The army was on standby.
In 2014, the attempted arrest of another guru on murder charges ended with his followers attacking police with clubs and stones.
Photo: Wikipedia
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