A group of religious leaders met Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in Sirsa to persuade him to apologise in order to end the standoff between the sect and the Sikhs over his alleged blasphemous act.

The deliberations between the Dera head and the team of leaders, which included Swami Agnivesh, are being kept secret.

However, it is learnt from sources that the Dera chief has softened his stand a bit, but there was no official confirmation from any quarter.

Dera chief spokesman Aditya Insaan told reporters that some persons were raising "baseless allegations" against the Dera even though these were under consideration of the court.

"All this is being done as part of a pre-planned conspiracy to damage the image of the Dera, which has been working for the welfare of the mankind," he said.

The Dera's legal advisor Sumer Chand said the Central Bureau of Investigation, in its four to five years of investigations, has not been able to identify the author of the anonymous letter in which allegations were levelled against the Dera and its head.

The Sikh high priests have demanded that the CBI probe in connection with the murder of a Sirsa journalist who had written against the Dera and alleged some wrongdoings in its Sirsa headquarters be expedited.

Meanwhile, a peaceful bandh was observed in Sirsa on Tuesday on a call given by local Sikh priests to protest the alleged blasphemous act by the Dera chief.

Some shops on the borders of the town were open. Vehicular traffic, banking services and work in government offices remained unaffected.

However, some private schools and colleges remained closed and bus services to Punjab were suspended as a precautionary measure.

In view of the bandh, security was tightened around the Dera office and the roads leading to it.