Dera Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh convicted; 12 killed in violence

At least 12 people have been killed and more than 100 injured as violence erupted in Haryana and Punjab after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted in a rape case by a CBI court in Panchkula today. 

Dera followers set on fire a grid in Matti and Datewas villages of Mansa. The mob also set on fire a wooden shop near Baluana railway station near Malout in Mansa district. 

The Army has taken over the responsibility of security in Sirsa, where Dera headquarters is situated.At Panchkula, police used tear gas shells and fired in the air to disperse mobs who pelted stones and broke barricades. Mobs damaged vehicles on Zirakpur-Shimla road and tried to set ablaze fire tenders in Panchkula. 

The power supply at Panchkula and Sirsa has been cut to stop use of the Internet through broadband.Curfew has been imposed in many parts of Punjab and Haryana. 

A video-journalist of a TV channel was injured when his colleagues were



attacked by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's followers, moments after the court conviction. Vehicles of media organisations were also attacked. 

The mounted police was also pressed into service. Scores of jawans, including 15,000 paramilitary personnel, have been deployed in the sensitive areas across Punjab and Haryana.

Delhi has been put on high alert. Security has been beefed up in the national capital as a precautionary measure. The security in areas bodering Haryana has been heightened.

Police say Dera Sacha Sauda supporters have torched a bus in northeast Delhi's Loni Chowk. Reports of arson in some parts of Delhi adjoining Uttar Pradesh have also come in. 

Coaches of a train at Anand Vihar Railway Station were torched by the miscreants.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has appealed to everyone to maintain peace.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has urged people to maintain peace.