Security forces outside Nam Charcha Ghar of Dera Sacha Sauda at Raikot near Ludhiana on Tuesday. (Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh)
Ahead of the verdict scheduled for August 25 in a rape case in which Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmit Ram Rahim is the accused, 75 companies of central forces have arrived in Punjab to maintain law and order and police have been deployed in sensitive areas, especially outside the Nam Charcha Ghar of Dera Sacha Sauda.
This was stated by DGP Suresh Arora, who flew across the state to take stock of security arrangements. The DGP started his tour from Bathinda Tuesday morning. He said that apart from central forces, nearly 11,000 Punjab Police personnel had been deployed in Bathinda alone.
The DGP, along with DGP (Law and Order) and DGP (Intelligence), held meetings with District Magistrates, Punjab Police officers till SHO level, and senior paramilitary officers to discuss security arrangements. A detailed intelligence briefing was given to officers on available inputs about the plans of Dera Sacha Sauda followers and other groups. Bathinda, Mansa and Muktsar districts in Punjab share borders with Sirsa and have a large number of Dera Sacha Sauda followers.
The DGP also visited Mansa, Moga, Patiala, Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib. On Monday, a flag march was held by Punjab Police, along with paramilitary forces. With inputs from ENS Chandigarh
