India detains hundreds, cancels more than 300 trains after deadly ‘godman’ protests

Mimi Nguyen Ly
By Mimi Nguyen Ly
August 26, 2017India
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India detains hundreds, cancels more than 300 trains after deadly ‘godman’ protests
A security personnel member stands guard outside a burnt carriage of a train near a railway station in New Delhi, India, August 26, 2017. (Reuters/Adnan Abidi)

PANCHKULA, India—Indian authorities have arrested hundreds of people and canceled more than 300 trains passing through two northern states after at least 29 people were killed in violent protests following the conviction of a self-styled ‘godman’.

Security forces were on “standby” outside the spiritual leader’s headquarters where some 10,000 followers remained holed up, the Director General of Police in Haryana state, Baljit Singh Sandhu, told India Today news station.

A security personnel member walks past a burnt carriage of a train near a railway station in New Delhi, India, August 26, 2017. (Reuters/Adnan Abidi)
A security personnel member walks past a burnt carriage of a train near a railway station in New Delhi, India, August 26, 2017. (Reuters/Adnan Abidi)

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the head of a social welfare and spiritual group with a wide following in Punjab and Haryana states, was found guilty on Friday of raping two followers in a case dating back to 2002 at the headquarters of his Dera Sacha Sauda group in the northern town of Sirsa.

Supporters rampaged in response, attacking railway stations, petrol stations and television vans in towns across the northern states of Punjab and Haryana, witnesses said.

Debris are seen in the streets in Panchkula, India August 26, 2017. (Reuters/Cathal McNaughton)
Debris are seen in the streets in Panchkula, India August 26, 2017. (Reuters/Cathal McNaughton)

At least 29 people were killed in Panchkula town where the court returned its verdict on Singh and more than 200 people were injured, mainly in Haryana state.

The protests, about 250 km (155 miles) from the Indian capital New Delhi, was one of the biggest this year related to a ‘godman’ spiritual leader.

A soldier looks at a burnt out car after a day of violence in Panchkula, India August 26, 2017. (Reuters/Cathal McNaughton)
A soldier looks at a burnt out car after a day of violence in Panchkula, India August 26, 2017. (Reuters/Cathal McNaughton)

About 524 people had been arrested, Ram Niwas, a top Haryana administrator, told Reuters.

Authorities said they were bracing for Singh’s sentencing on Monday when there could be more violence.

A spokesman for the northern division of Indian Railways said 340 trains have been canceled on Saturday as a precaution.

A man surveys the damage after a day of violence in Panchkula, India August 26, 2017. (Reuters/Cathal McNaughton)
A man surveys the damage after a day of violence in Panchkula, India August 26, 2017. (Reuters/Cathal McNaughton)

“We’re monitoring the situation but we may have to cancel more trains,” Neeraj Sharma told Reuters.

Security personnel were still guarding Panchkula, which was among the worst affected towns during the violence, as some shops started to reopen and people came out of their homes.

Soldiers patrol the streets in Panchkula, India August 26, 2017. (Reuters/Cathal McNaughton)
Soldiers patrol the streets in Panchkula, India August 26, 2017. (Reuters/Cathal McNaughton)

“I was just speaking with an army general to continue patrolling in Sirsa,” said Niwas. “We’ve asked everyone to continue effective patrolling, because the (sentence) will be announced the day after.”

Singh is also under investigation over allegations that he convinced 400 of his male followers to undergo castration. He denies those charges.

By Cathal McNaughton, Reuters