Panchkula (Haryana), Aug 25 (PTI) — Enraged by the rape conviction of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh today, thousands of his followers went on the rampage, hurling stones and vandalising media vehicles. At least 12 people were killed and hundreds injured.
Police fired in the air and also lobbed tear gas and let loose water cannons on the protesters to quell the violence, which appeared to be spreading in Haryana, Punjab and even Rajasthan.
The duty doctor at the Civil Hospital in Panchkula said at least 12 people were killed.
A reporter of CNN News 18 TV said a steady stream of ambulances was bringing scores of injured people to the hospital, soaked in blood. He described the scene as "chaos." It was not clear if the injuries were due to police action or violence by Dera followers.
"The flow of injured is not stopping," said the reporter in his dispatch, which also showed pictures of vehicles burning and at least one person lying motionless by the roadside. The report said the man was dead.
Immediately after a court here convicted the Dera Sacha Sauda chief, many of his followers, including a large number of women, broke police barricades and security cordons.
At least three OB vans of private television channels were damaged. Two vans were overturned by a mob.
The India Today Group's TV channel showed pictures of its correspondent and cameraman being attacked while they were travelling in a van in Sirsa, the Dera's headquarters. The camera captured images of the windshield and windows being struck by men with sticks.
The glass shattered and one of the occupants of the van was heard moaning. The video then showed his bloodied face.
The police fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells on sections of the crowds, many of them camping since last night on the streets of Panchkula.
The police also used water cannons and batons on the protesters to bring the situation under control.
CBI judge Jagdeep Singh, while holding the 50-year-old Dera chief guilty of rape, said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on August 28, CBI counsel HPS Verma told reporters outside the court.
The punishment can be a jail term of not less than seven years but may even extend to life imprisonment.
Army personnel and central paramilitary forces took positions around the CBI court complex in Panchkula, as the area close to the complex was sealed.
Male Child Abuse Survivors
Praveen Minj(01 of05)
Open Image Modal"I never really understood it then, but now when I look back at my life I understand how much I really suffered. Sadly, more than the abuse, it was the how the trauma of it changed me as a person.
As a male child I was always expected to be strong. My mother’s suffering in her life, forced me to hide my own pain and take the onus of healing, upon myself. Eventually, this kept on adding to my baggage of constant self-victimizing , self criticism, self-doubt, and self-disbelief." (credit:Photographer Deepti Asthana/Courtesy The Hands of Hope Foundation)
Abhhydday Paathak(02 of05)
Open Image Modal"Sometimes the very wounds that cripple us hold the key to our healing. So here I am, breaking the silence.
In the attic of my childhood, I lost the child within me. I was 5 when my fairy tale turned into a nightmare. Like the caged, mute animals, digging canals to escape the predator, I too found myself, dodging the predator who terrorized my body and soul almost every day. Ironically, he was an officer charged with the responsibility to safeguard me. I know rationally that none of it was my fault. But, the threats then didn’t allow me to see otherwise." (credit:Photographer Deepti Asthana/Courtesy The Hands of Hope Foundation)
Mohammed Ali(03 of05)
Open Image ModalAli was 9 years old when he was first sexually abused at a railway station in Mumbai. His abusers were not one but many--older boys, cops, drug addicts, whoever got hold of him. (credit:Photographer Deepti Asthana/Courtesy The Hands of Hope Foundation)
Rajeev Pandey(04 of05)
Open Image Modal"I was taken to a dark empty room in the huge family house. He told me the medicine he had would only work if I kept it a secret. He then pulled down my pants, and abused me. It hurt me no end, but I bravely bore it. After all, I was on my way to becoming like my father.
The abuse continued. So did the pain." (credit:Photographer Deepti Asthana/Courtesy The Hands of Hope Foundation)
Roshan Kokane(05 of05)
Open Image Modal"I was 10-years-old when I was sexually abused for the first time. I was napping in the noon on my bed after a tiring day at school and suddenly opened my eyes to the sensation of someone trying to physically hurt me. I was scared, shocked and I didn’t move a bit. Fear and confusion gripped me that afternoon.
The abuser was unfortunately someone from my family. Every time I was alone, they would touch me in the most inappropriate ways and force me to do the same with them. They would do it as frequent as one or twice a week." (credit:Photographer Deepti Asthana/Courtesy The Hands of Hope Foundation)