Northern India braces itself for riots ahead of rape trial verdict involving spiritual leader

A number of cities in northern India have been put on lockdown ahead of a verdict which is due to be announced today in a rape trial involving controversial and popular spiritual leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who has been accused of sexual harassment by two of his female followers.

The guru is a leader of the quasi-religious sect called Dera Sacha Sauda and tens of thousands of his followers have gathered in the town of Panchkula, ahead of the announcement of the verdict. A special court of Central Bureau of Investigation is set to announce the decision there today.

The guru calls himself Saint Dr Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan and till now he has denied the charges of raping his two female followers. The case was lodged by the victims and it is being investigated by CBI, which is India’s top agency. The guru is also under investigation for allegedly encouraging 400 followers to undergo castrations at his ashram in 2015, so that they could get closer to God.

Despite his controversial teachings and beliefs, the sect has thousands of followers and the police are expecting a violent backlash from them in case the case does not go in their guru’s favor.

Men, women and children were seen settled around the court complex, surrounded by security, as they awaited the court’s verdict.

Around 6,000 police and paramilitary soldiers have been stationed in Panchkula ahead of the hearing and thousands more have been deployed in nearby areas fearing a backlash in the event of a guilty verdict.

In Panchkula and the neighbouring city of Chandigarh, three sports stadiums have been set aside to act as makeshift prisons in case of violence, police said.

The borders of Chandigarh have also been sealed for the next two days to prevent violence from spilling over.

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Posted by fatimaarshad on Aug 25 2017. Filed under Latest News, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.