Chandigarh: One person was on Friday killed in a clash between a group of
Sikhs and Dera Sacha Sauda supporters in Dabwali town in Haryana's Sirsa
district, prompting police in neighbouring Punjab to go on high alert.
The clash broke out after an
altercation between two sides during morning prayers naamcharcha of Dera
supporters in Dabwali, about 60 km from here, Deputy Commissioner V Umashankar
said.
"One person belonging to the
group of Sikh supporters slipped and fell down and was killed in the
brickbatting during the clash," he said.
Umashankar said that the
district administration had not been told about the Dera programme in advance.
"Generally, we are informed
about any naamcharcha by the Dera people, but this time we had no information
because of which we could not take any action.
"It was a small prayer
congregation in which about 30-35 people from Dera side were present and the
Sikh group numbered about 50. There was some altercation between the two groups
after which they clashed and pelted stones at each other," he told PTI.
He said tension has been
brewing up in Dabwali and Sirsa, the headquarters of the Dera, whose head
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is at loggerheads with the Sikhs.
Additional forces including
two companies (200 personnel) of Rapid Action Force has been deployed in Sirsa
and Dabwali to prevent any untoward incident, he said.
Some Sikhs from Punjab have
also reached here and protesters have blocked Sirsa-Bathinda road, sources said.
Meanwhile, in Punjab a high
alert has been sounded and additional forces were being deployed around
sensitive places, including Salabatpura in Bathinda, which had in the past
witnessed tension between Dera supporters and Sikhs.
"We want to appeal to
everyone to help maintain peace. As a precaution, we have stepped up security
around Deras and other sensitive places," Punjab's Additional Director General
of Police (Law and Order) Chandershekhar told PTI in Chandigarh.
In June, one person was
killed in firing by a bodyguard of Dera chief in Mumbai during an altercation
with a group of Sikhs, leading to violence.
