Self-styled God Man Gurmeet Ram Rahim is all set to appear in Panchkula court tomorrow for the rape case. Just 1 day before the big decision, the tension has started building up in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.
The followers of Ram Rahim have started coming into the tri-city in huge number and as per Chandigarh director general of police, Tejinder Luthra a curfew (Sec.144) has been imposed.
As per the NDTV report, a huge number of 2 lakhs people have already collected in the city and many more are planning to reach tomorrow.
A spokesperson for the Dera took offence to Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar stating that Ram Rahim would be present in court, suggesting it could cause chaos.
Aditya Insan, the Dera spokesperson, said-
“Without holding any discussion with us, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has unfortunately made a statement that Guru ji (Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh) will come there (appear in court). It has led to a situation of confusion.
He added-
We have been receiving lakhs of calls from our followers. I came to know that 8-10 lakh people have reached (Panchkula) and an additional 15-20 lakh will also reach there.”
Meanwhile, the government is doing whatever possible and as per The New Indian Express report, here are some activities that have been done.
1. The security has been increased.
2. Trains have been cancelled, schools and colleges will remain closed until August 28. The Haryana government has notified that August 24 and 25 be observed as gazetted holidays in the government offices, boards, corporations, educational institutions, and banks in Sectors 2, 4, 5 and 6, Panchkula.
3. The government has prohibited the carrying of firearms and orders have been given to shutdown arm dealers.
4. A total of 85 CRPF companies have been now deployed in Punjab.
5. In addition to that, about 2,000 Home Guards have been called into duty to help manage the crowd. The police have seized five walkie-talkies from suspected Dera followers and are moving to identify the locations housing dangerous weapons.
6. The paramilitary as well and the police forces of both Haryana and Punjab have started taking out flag marches in many sensitive areas.
7. The lawyers of Panchkula district and session’s court have suspended work for three days to avoid inconvenience to the public visiting the courts, as all the roads leading to the courts have been sealed.
8. The Haryana government has cancelled the leaves of all deputy commissioners, sub-divisional magistrates, and other personnel posted in the field. It has also directed all civil surgeons to cancel the leaves of the health staff serving in the state until August 30.
9. The Haryana transport department has directed the Haryana Roadways to terminate all its Chandigarh-bound buses at the Ambala bus stand.
10. Mobile Internet services in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh will remain suspended from Thursday evening for the next 72 hours.
Here’s hoping the matter gets resolved in peace.