To Sentence Ram Rahim Judge To Land In Chopper Shortly

Thousands of soldiers are guarding a prison in the town of Rohtak in Haryana, where, later this morning, a judge will arrive on a government helicopter to sentence spiritual guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for raping two women devotees in 2002. The army is on stand by and can enter the town, if needed, in about an hour, said military sources. Ram Rahim’s followers on Friday went berserk after he was convicted of rape in the town of Panchukla. 38 people have died in the violence and nearly 200 were injured. Ram Rahim, 50, faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment at the prison-side court hearing.

Ram Rahim was flown out of Panchkula in a helicopter after his conviction as his Dera Sacha Sauda sect broke into rioting and arson. To prevent a repeat, Judge Jagdeep Singh is flying to the prison in Rohtak to deliver the sentence today.

Thousands of paramilitary troops and anti-riot police have blocked off all roads in the area. Mobile internet services remain suspended. All schools and colleges in Haryana are closed.

Barbed-wire barriers have been erected and residents warned to stay indoors in Rohtak. Senior members of his sect were placed under detention as a precautionary measure.

The Rohtak police has warned that it may shoot at any sign of trouble, three days after violence and rioting by supporters of Ram Rahim’s Dera Sacha Sauda sect claimed 38 lives.

“We have made multi-layered arrangements so that nobody is able to reach the venue (prison) or enter Rohtak district itself,” police deputy inspector general Navdeep Singh Virk told NDTV. “I am fully confident everything will go on peacefully and there will be no untoward incident.”

Over 1,50,000 members of Ram Rahim’s Dera Sacha Sauda had gathered in Panchkula in a show of support a day before the verdict. Violent protests followed across his power base in the Haryana, with police deploying tear gas and water cannons, with little impact. It was clear the authorities grossly underestimated the risk posed by the army of Ram Rahim’s devotees.

Over the weekend, more than 100 branches of the sect have been sanitised and sealed across Haryana. Petrol cans and sticks were found stockpiled. The police in Sirsa, where his 1,000- acre main base is located, have been urging about 30,000 devotees to emerge from the campus.

Those efforts will continue today, said top government officials to NDTV, denying reports that they will forcefully enter the campus to evacuate devotees.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned yesterday that “Violence is not acceptable in the nation, in any form.” But his party, the BJP, which governs Haryana, has come under heavy fire for failing to prevent the outbreak of violence and allowing the 50-year-old guru to travel in a luxury chopper to jail.

Followers of the flamboyant Ram Rahim, who is known as the “guru in bling” because of his penchant for bejeweled costumes and customised superbikes, continue to insist upon his innocence. “Our father can never do any sin,” said devotee Trilok Insaan at a shop in Sirsa, adorned with posters of a heavily-bearded Ram Rahim.

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