Relief for P’kula police as day passes off peacefully

Sanjay Bumbroo

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, January 17 

The Panchkula police heaved a sigh of relief as the city witnessed no untoward incident in view of the life sentence awarded to the Dera Sirsa chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, by the special CBI court here today. 

With more than thousand security personnel pressed into force, the city was turned into a fortress on Thursday when a special CBI court pronounced quantum of sentence to jailed godman Ram Rahim Singh in the murder case of a journalist. 

 Key main roads leading to the court complex were out of bounds for the public even as the Rapid Action Force, water cannons and tear gas were also on alert. 

More than 14 nakas were laid across the fortified court complex while over 1,000 cops from Panchkula and neighbouring Madhuban in Karnal district remained on duty. The Panchkula police machinery, including Deputy Commissioner of Police, Deputy Superintendents of Police and other senior cops concentrated their focus on the CBI court. 

It is pertinent to mention here that on August 25, 2017, followers of Dera Sacha Sauda indulged in large-scale violence in the city when the CBI court convicted Ram Rahim for raping two of his disciples. The police was caught off guard at that time drawing flak from the Punjab and Haryana High Court for ill preparedness. 

The Panchkula Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kamaldeep Goyal said, “We have been on a high alert for any eventuality. Security has been heightened specially on the district border. We did not take any chance and also deployed police in ‘mufti’ to keep track of the anti-social elements, who could be out to disturb peace in the city.” 

Meanwhile, the District Bar Association suspended work for the day as a pre-emptive security measure. District Bar Association president Umesh Kumar Mahour said courts were not held today to ensure safety of the life and property of advocates.

However, litigants and those visiting the court for notary and other work went back disappointed as notary offices outside the court premises wore a deserted look with cops standing guard.   People, who travelled from far, complained that there was no advance information on the development. “I came all the way from Raipur Rani to get documents prepared for the transfer of house in my name. I was denied entry from the check point near Suraj theatre as security men told me that courts are not convening today,” said Kuldeep Kumar.