At Least 30 Dead in Fatal Clashes Over Indian Spiritual Guru's Rape Conviction (Photos)

 

At least 30 people were killed on Friday during protests after the ruling against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. They were believed to be followers of the self-styled guru, many of them killed by gunfire.

Singh was found guilty of raping two women at the headquarters of his sect, the Dera Sacha Sauda, in 2002.

Security forces were deployed to prevent further bloodshed after angry supporters rampaged through Panchkula, near Chandigarh.

The state government in Haryana has ordered a search of all centres there that belong to Singh's followers.

Officials said security personnel would seize any weapons they found. Troops have approached the sect's headquarters near the town of Sirsa, and are trying to establish contact with those inside, local reports say.

 

Barricades have been placed at entry points to the premises, where around 100,000 people are believe to be sheltering. The campus covers a vast area, almost 1,000 acres, and includes schools, a hospital, a sports village and a cinema.

Police arrested some 2,500 of the guru's devotees after 200,000 flocked to Panchkula ahead of Friday's verdict. Some smashed cars and set media vans alight, insisting he was innocent.

Thousands of army, police and paramilitary forces were deployed. They fired tear-gas canisters and water cannon into the crowd to try to restore control, says the BBC's Ravinder Singh Robin in Panchkula.

At least 200 people were injured, 50 of them from the security forces. Violence also spread to the capital, Delhi, where two train coaches were set on fire.

Mobile phone services remain disrupted in some parts of Haryana state and in neighbouring Punjab, where authorities imposed a curfew after the clashes.

 

The curfew in Panchkula was lifted on Saturday, but restrictions on public assembly are still in place.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the clashes "deeply distressing," tweeting: "I strongly condemn the violence & urge everyone to maintain peace."

Pressure is growing on the country's central government to replace the chief minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, over the riots. Mr Khattar has insisted that security arrangements were made, and that "a few miscreants" triggered the violence.

Singh, 50, had arrived at court in Panchkula in a convoy of more than 100 vehicles. He was taken into protective custody by the army after his conviction.

The guru is expected to get a prison term of at least seven years when he is sentenced on Monday. Authorities fear more violence could follow.

Who is Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh?
 

-BBC