Campaigning for the Punjab assembly elections came to an end on Saturday evening and major political parties -- the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress -- are keeping their fingers crossed.
The situation in violence-hit parts of Punjab and Haryana was limping back to normalcy on Tuesday with paramilitary forces personnel conducting flag marches in sensitive areas following Saturday's violence by supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh protesting against registration of a fresh murder case against him.
The list includes names like Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Rampal, Asaram and his son Narayan Sai.
Bhumi Pednekar beats Mallika Sherawat at the box office!
Dera Sacha Sauda followers went on a rampage setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations following the conviction of their head -- Gurmeet Ram Rahim -- in a rape case.
Punjab Congress chief and former chief minister Amrinder Singh on Friday visited the Dera Sacha Sauda in Sirsa and met its chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to seek the support of the sect followers in favour of his party for the January 30 assembly polls.
If you want to experience torture first-hand, watch MSG: The Warrior-Lion Heart, says Namrata Thakker.
The 50-year-old self-styled godman, who boasted of millions of followers, is lodged in Rohtak's Sunaria jail for raping his two disciples.
The Dera chief was returning from Rajasthan when his vehicle was attacked, but he escaped unhurt, a senior official said.
Leaders have appealed to the participants to maintain peace and not to raise any kind of slogans.
The followers, owing allegiance to the 'Sant Samaj', an umbrella organisation of various Sikh bodies, congregated at a shrine at Fatehgarh Sahib as police took precautionary measures to prevent any untoward incidents.
The Dera head had been accused by the CBI of two murders -- Dera manager Ranjit Singh and scribe Ram Chander Chattarapati -- besides rape of his disciple.
"I thought that rediff.com was only a portal and had nothing to do with news," he said.
The cases relate to the murder of a Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chatterpatti and Dera Manager Ranjit Singh besides other related cases.
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was forced to leave Mysore for security reasons in the early hours of Monday, following protests from the Sikh community.Police sources said that Singh, who was shifted to Bangalore under tight security, left for Delhi by the early morning flight.There are widespread protests all over the country by the Sikh community, demanding Singh's arrest, after his security guards killed one person in Mumbai and fired at Sikh protest groups
The police on Sunday shifted Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to an undisclosed destination for "security reasons" amid continued protests over the gunning down of a Sikh demonstrator in Mumbai while radical groups demanded the Dera Sacha Sauda chief's immediate arrest.
The court also directed that Singh shall remain present and join investigations as and when required in future and adjourned the matter to September 19.
The action committee of the Sirsa-based sect, in a letter to Kalam, also demanded registration of case against those who are allegedly committing excesses on its followers.
"Police have sent an application to the government seeking sanction to prosecute the Dera head," Bhatinda police chief Naunihal Singh told PTI over phone in Chandigarh on Saturday.
The court, however, directed the police to seek the Punjab government's permission before arresting the Sirsa-based Dera head.
An image of Swami Agnivesh with the Sikh clergy.
The CBI court is hearing the cases of killings of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and former Dera manager Ranjit Singh.
Police on Monday lathicharged Sikh protestors who tried to take out a procession defying prohibitory orders to protest against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's alleged insult to tenth Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.
A special Central Bureau of Investigation court on Saturday directed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to be present on August 23 to hear formal framing of charges against him in connection with a 1999 case involving the rape of a female disciple.Singh was not present in the court today owing to ill health, skipping a second successive appearance. The Dera chief is the lone accused in the case of alleged sexual exploitation involving a female sect member.
A car, part of the cavalcade of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, went up in flames in Haryana's Karnal district on Saturday. The driver of the car lost control after its engine developed trouble near village Manakmajra. Suddenly there was a loud explosion and the car went up in flames, police said. Two people have been rounded up in connection with the incident, police said, adding it was too early to conclude whether it was an accident or an attack
Special CBI Judge R K Saini, who on Monday reserved his order after the defence concluded arguments, allowed the regular bail plea as his 'prima facie involvement' in the three cases had not been established, Singh's lawyer Jasmir Singh told media persons in Ambala.
A special CBI team, escorted by heavily armed police, reached the Dera headquarters in Sirsa on Saturday morning and was made to wait for over three hours before the notice could be served to the Dera chief in his gufa (cave), CBI sources said.
The government had given the nod for his arrest.
Acting on the court's directive, the Punjab government had on Wednesday given the go-ahead for the arrest and prosecution of Dera Sacha Sauda head.
Emerging from a meeting of Akal Takht in Amritsar, jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti told reporters that "the fresh note received from Dera head neither accepts his sin nor promises not to repeat such act again."
Top Sikh clerics on Tuesday met to decide the future course of action against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the wake of an apology tendered by him for dressing like Guru Gobind Singh.
The action came a day after the Dera Sacha Sauda expressed regret over "the chain of events" leading to violence in Punjab and said its head never intended to imitate Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru.
The matter was raised by Dr Rattan Singh, member of Lok Sabha from Tarn Taran and Saranjit Singh Dhillon, who alleged that the Congress party was behind engineering violence against the Akalis.
The Dera had approached the apex court last Friday after the Akal Takht, the highest religious body of Sikhs, served an ultimatum to the Punjab government to close down all Deras in the state by May 27.
Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has apologised for dressing up like Guru Gobind Singh.
As the Sikh's highest temporal seat gave an ultimatum to the Punjab government to close down the Deras by May 27, it rejected the regret expressed by Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
Ram Chander Chhatrapati, who ran a local daily 'Poora Sacch', was shot a few months after he published an anonymous letter narrating how women were being sexually exploited by Singh at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa.
Notably, all the games played inside the academy are created by Gurmeet Ram Rahim himself and are not played at national or international level.
The CBI court is hearing the cases of murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and former Dera manager Ranjit Singh.
Priyanka Taneja alias Honeypreet was arrested from Zirakpur-Patiala road
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances