An injured Dera follower at Civil Hospital in Sector 6, Panchkula, Saturday. (Source: Express Photo/Sahil Walia)
“Babaji has done many miracles for my family. He should have done another one on Friday. I am disheartened,” said Mavni Ram, from a village in Ambala district, as he lay on his hospital bed at PGIMER. Mavni Ram was among those injured in the violence on Friday following the conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the head of Dera Sacha Sauda. He sustained a pellet injury in the hip. Doctors said a majority of those injured in Panchkula sustained pellet gun wounds and fractures. “They came with multiple pellet injuries on the chest and abdomen,” said a senior doctor involved in the treatment team.
Dr Sameer Agarwal, nodal officer of the Trauma Centre, said, “We noticed that the weapons were used properly. Nobody had injuries above the abdomen, or pellet wounds in the head or eyes.” Most of the patients had pellet wounds, he added. A large number of patients suffered fractures as well. One of the injured who succumbed at the hospital on Saturday had serious pellet injuries, a source said. “The cause will be confirmed only after postmortem,” said a senior PGI official.
A PGI statement said that of the 68 patients brought to the hospital, seven were declared brought dead, while one died during hospitalisation. “Twelve patients were discharged today,” said a PGI official. At the Advanced Trauma Centre of PGI, where the injured were admitted, security was tight. Chandigarh Police also kept an eye on the patients and verified their details. Later in the day, they started detaining patients who were being discharged. The flow of injured patients continued till midnight on Friday. There were no visitors, only hospital staff. Many of the families of the injured were yet to arrive as they were residents of faraway Punjab districts.
A 40-year-old man, who did not disclose his name, said he had contacted his family. “They have not yet arrived on account of curfew,” he said. Many of the injured were convinced that their Baba had been framed. They also said the violence had defamed the Dera. “Whatever happened was not right. The image of the Dera is ruined because of some violent people,” said Ram, a rickshaw puller from an Ambala village. A young follower sporting a Dera bracelet said he protested because “Baba was framed. Babaji cannot do anything wrong, he is God to me,” he said.
The story was the same at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Sector 32, Panchkula. Of the 38 patients admitted on Friday, two were discharged on Saturday. The institute had heightened security in the Emergency and those admitted were not ready to talk to the media. Of the four followers brought dead, two were identified. One injured supporter said, “I did not throw a single stone. But something hit me and I was taken to hospital.” Doctors said had “gunshot injuries”.
