Panchkula violence: Chandigarh Police arrests six Dera Sacha Sauda supporters, seize 25 live cartridges

Chandigarh: Six “commandos” of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief were arrested, and arms and ammunition were seized from them while they were entering Chandigarh from Panchkula, the police said. [caption id=“attachment_3973707” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AP[/caption] They said a pistol, 25 live cartridges, and two petrol cans were recovered from their possession and two vehicles impounded. “We suspect that they were coming to Chandigarh after indulging in violence and rioting in Panchkula,” a UT of Chandigarh Police official said. During the preliminary interrogation, they have claimed to be the “commandos” of Dera Sacha Sauda sect head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, he said. They have been booked under relevant sections of the Arms Act and for rioting, police said. Meanwhile, the Chandigarh Police said it has put 83 Dera followers, who were trying to enter Chandigarh, in preventive custody. They have been kept in sector 16 Cricket stadium, declared as a temporary jail, it said. The UT Police said no violence took place in Chandigarh because of elaborate security arrangements that were in place. Self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was Friday convicted of rape by a court in Panchkula, triggering widespread violence and arson in Haryana where 30 people were killed and over 250 injured after which curfew was imposed at other places. Arson by the frenzied followers of the head of Dera Sacha Sauda was also witnessed in Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan within a few hours of the pronouncement of the judgement by the CBI court in the 2002 case.