31 dead, 150 injured; curfew in Punjab, Haryana towns following Ram Rahim’s conviction 

Minutes after the CBI court at Panchkula on Friday convicted Dera Sachha Sauda chief Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim for raping two women followers, violence erupted in various places in Punjab and Haryana. Even though the quantum of sentence would be announced on August 28, curfew has been clamped in Ferozepur, Mansa and Bathinda after Dera followers clashed with the security forces.

Followers of Indian religious leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh clashed with security forces after the controversial guru was convicted of rape in Panchkula on Friday. At the end of the day, 17 people were said to have died in Panchkula alone where 150 other people, some of them seriously injured were being treated. Clashes erupted soon after a CBI court found the godman guilty of raping two Sadhvis.

Irate followers of the godman, who had been threatening violence if he were to be convicted, went on the rampage, attacking an OB van in sector 3 of Panchkula and targeting photographers and the media. Initial reports said that two railway stations had been set on fire by the followers. Many of his followers, including a large number of women, broke police barricades and security cordons. At least three OB vans of private television channels were damaged. Two vans were overturned by a mob.

In a surprise move, the Government decided to fly the convict in a chopper to Rohtak jail. Given the volatile situation, a section of officials felt, the godman should immediately be transferred to a prison outside the state.

Earlier in the day, Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered security forces to deal with mobs sternly. Observing that politicians interfering with security should be booked and asking police to video record cases of arson and violence, the judges gave police the liberty to use force.

• The police fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells on sections of the crowds, many of them camping since last night on the streets of Panchkula. The police also used water cannons and batons on the protesters to bring the situation under control.
• Army personnel and central paramilitary forces took positions around the CBI court complex in Panchkula, as the area close to the complex was sealed.
• The India Today Group's TV channel showed pictures of its correspondent and cameraman being attacked while they were travelling in a van in Sirsa, the Dera's headquarters. The camera captured images of the windshield and windows being struck by men with sticks. The glass shattered and one of the occupants of the van was heard moaning.
• In Punjab's Mansa, two vehicles of Income Tax department were torched
• In Ludhiana, police ask shopkeepers at the railway station and on Ferozepur Road to close shops
• In Sangrur, miscreants set Lehragaga tehsil office on fire and try to set the fard kender on fire
• In Ferozepur, DC/SSP meet Premis exhorting them to maintain peace
• Railway stations at Malaut, Balluwana set on fire
• Curfew imposed in Panchkula; petrol pump in Sector 4 and Income Tax office in Sector 2 targeted
• In Punjab's Mansa, two vehicles of Income Tax department were torched
• In Sangrur, miscreants set Lehragaga tehsil office on fire and try to set the fard kender on fire.