20,000 Dera chief followers on Uttarakhand police radar

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Police is keeping a close tab on the 20,000-odd supporters of rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the state, to ward out any possibility of Haryana-like violence in the coming days.
“Udham Singh Nagar, Haridwar, Dehradun and Nainital districts have been put on high alert in the wake of massive incidents of violence in Haryana on Friday. We are also keeping a close watch on supporters of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in these four districts,” said Ashok Kumar, additional director general of police (ADG) Law and Order.
As a precautionary measure, section 144 has also been imposed in the four districts, which houses maximum supporters of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief. Checks on Kulhaal border post has also been intensified to stop any anti-social elements from entering the state.
According to intelligence inputs, there are around 20,000 supporters of the Dera chief in the state with around 10,000 supporters living in Udham Singh Nagar district, especially in Bazpur and neighbouring areas. The remaining are in three other districts of the state.
ADG Law and Order Ashok Kumar said that police are aware of the pockets where maximum dera supporters are concentrated, adding, “Vigil will continue on inter-state border posts at least till coming Monday when CBI court is going to pronounce the quantum of sentence.”
About 200 dera supporters had gone to Panchkula and Sirsa in Haryana in support of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, but maximum have returned and the rest are on their way back, police said.