Sirsa, Haryana (KP) – Exacerbating the Dera Sacha Sauda issue further, local officials of the cult have announced that they will parody Sikh protests against their criminal activities by holding their own versions of protests and agitations against Panthic Sikh organizations.
Fresh announcements by the Dera officials have put district authorities in a hard situation as the clashes between the two communities are estimated to increase. Furthermore, the dera followers have taken part in violent activities in the past. Now instead of just putting down Sikh outrage, the police will have to cope with any violence that arises from opposing protests.
Starting with last year when Gurmeet Ram Rahim invented his own version of ‘sacred amrit’, several violent clashes have been noticed between the two groups. Bhai Kanwaljit Singh Sunam of district Sangrur was the first Sikh to be martyred by the Dera followers. While different clashes have left several people injured in the past few months, two more Sikhs – Bhai Harmandir Singh and Bhai Balkar Singh were martyred.
Dera Officials have announced that the protests will continue until the police arrest Singh Sahib Giani Balwant Singh Nandgarh and Baba Baljit Singh Daduwal. Furthermore, a list containing 167 names has also been submitted with the district magistrate of Sirsa demanding their arrest before August 4th. These Sikhs seem to have allegedly provoked others to take actions against the Dera Sacha Sauda and its followers.
It is highly unlikely that the police will take any action against the Sikh leaders, especially due to the absence of any facts. The statements by Dera authorities seem to have only originated to reduce the demand by different groups--Sikh and non-sikh alike--to arrest Gurmeet Ram Rahim and other Dera officials for various murders and rapes. Currently the dera chief faces trial in different courts on multiple cases, but so far with a lack of Government interest, the cases against him have only been unnecessarily extended.
