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Ram Rahim Singh: deadly clashes follow Indian guru's rape conviction
Source: The Guardian
Ram Rahim Singh: deadly clashes follow Indian guru's rape conviction
Army deployed and at least 13 killed after spiritual leader convicted of assaulting two female sect members
Michael Safi in Delhi
Friday 25 August 2017 14.50 BST
At least 25 people have died in riots and arson attacks that broke out across two states in northern India after a flamboyant Indian spiritual leader was convicted of raping two of his female followers.
The Indian army was deployed in the city of Panchkula on Friday shortly after the court found Ram Rahim Singh guilty of sexual assault. The self-styled “godman” and leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect has been taken into custody and will reportedly be flown by helicopter to a jail in Haryana state before sentencing on Monday.
A police official told the Hindustan Times that 25 deaths had been confirmed across the region.
Electricity supplies, mobile internet and cable television had been cut in parts of Haryana and Punjab states before the verdict as up to 200,000 members of the sect massed in Panchkula in a show of defiance and support.
-snip-
Army deployed and at least 13 killed after spiritual leader convicted of assaulting two female sect members
Michael Safi in Delhi
Friday 25 August 2017 14.50 BST
At least 25 people have died in riots and arson attacks that broke out across two states in northern India after a flamboyant Indian spiritual leader was convicted of raping two of his female followers.
The Indian army was deployed in the city of Panchkula on Friday shortly after the court found Ram Rahim Singh guilty of sexual assault. The self-styled “godman” and leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect has been taken into custody and will reportedly be flown by helicopter to a jail in Haryana state before sentencing on Monday.
A police official told the Hindustan Times that 25 deaths had been confirmed across the region.
Electricity supplies, mobile internet and cable television had been cut in parts of Haryana and Punjab states before the verdict as up to 200,000 members of the sect massed in Panchkula in a show of defiance and support.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/25/fears-unrest-indian-guru-convicted-rape-ram-rahim-singh-panchkula
