Dera Sacha Sauda violence: Cache of 33 weapons recovered at sect's headquarters in Sirsa

A cache of 33 licensed weapons was recovered by the Haryana Police from Dera Sacha Sauda’s headquarters in Sirsa, media outlets have reported.

The police said the weapons seized included pistols, revolvers, .315-bore rifles and modified weapons, according to Hindustan Times . The station house officer said “There are 67 licensed weapons in the name of Dera Sacha Sauda. We got information from the Dera administration that it has collected 33 of them and that we should take them from its office.”

This incident comes in the light of Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s statement on Sunday that the Punjab and Haryana High Court was monitoring the Dera Sacha Sauda issue and the administration will enter the sect’s headquarters at Sirsa after the court appoints a judicial magistrate for the purpose.

To a question why the administration was hesitating to entering the sect’s headquarters, he said, “The high court is monitoring the entire (Dera) issue. We have sought appointment of a judicial magistrate and will also follow all the directions of the court.” Khattar said, adding that the forces cannot enter on their own.

Earlier, four rifles, including an AK47, pistols and petrol bombs were seized from the supporters of Ram Rahim Singh after violence spread out across Panchkula, Chandigarh and rest of Haryana, following his conviction, reported DNA .

Allegations have surfaced in the past too that the Dera chief was providing illegal arms training to his followers at the sect’s headquarters. The matter is currently sub judice.

A special CBI court had sentenced Dera Sacha Sauda’s chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to 20 years in prison after his conviction in two rape cases. CBI judge Jagdeep Singh pronounced two sentences of 10 years rigorous imprisonment in each of the two cases that date back to 2002.