Panchkula violence: SIT to probe substance recovered from a fire tender belonging to Dera's cavalcade

Chandigarh: A special investigation team has been set up to examine the substance recovered from a fire tender which was part of the motorcade of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, police said on Sunday. A number of vehicles belonging to the sect head, including the fire tender, were impounded by the police on Friday. [caption id=“attachment_3980515” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Paramilitary forces in Rohtak, Haryana. PTI[/caption] “There were two large tanks in the fire engine. A foul smell was emanating from the tanks. We have sent the substance recovered from the tanks to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory,” Panchkula’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Manbir Singh said earlier. Meanwhile, Haryana DGP BS Sandhu on Sunday told reporters, “The substance recovered from the fire tender is being examined by a special investigation team constituted for this purpose”. Haryana Police Commissioner AS Chawla confirmed that no inflammable material was found from the fire fighting machine. “After an examination of the fire tender by our fire officer and crime unit, it was found that the substance had neutral pH value. It means the material is not inflammable,” he said. The officer said two more compartments were found in the fire tender. “One of the compartments, which was 4-5 feet in length, was empty and smelled of petrol. We have asked the fire officer to check whether it was normal to have compartments in a fire brigade or was it customised. If it is proved that the compartment contained petrol, we will arrest the person to whom it belonged,” Chawla said. The officer said as many as 26 vehicles, including high-end luxury ones, were also impounded. “We will trace the owners of these high-end vehicles. It is a serious matter because we found weapons in these vehicles,” he said. Sandhu also urged the media to forward all photographs, videos and audio clips going viral on social media regarding the violent incidents to Haryana Police Commissioner AS Chawla. The conviction of the Dera head in the 2002 rape case on Friday by a CBI court had triggered arson and violence across Haryana that claimed 36 lives and injured over 250 people.