Punjab, Haryana on maximum alert ahead of Dera verdict

Chandigarh, August 23 : Over one lakh followers have reached Panchkula as Haryana and Punjab maintain maximum alert ahead of the court judgment in a rape case against the Dera head. As a precautionary measure, the government has ordered closure of schools and colleges in Panchkula district on August 24 and 25, Deputy Commissioner Gauri Parashar Joshi said on Wednesday. Many followers are still arriving at the sect’s Sector-23 based ‘Naam Charcha Ghar’ (congregation/prayer centre) in Panchkula to show their solidarity with the sect chief, who has been asked to appear in person in the special CBI court on Friday. Joshi said the administration and police were keeping an eye to ensure that law and order was maintained.
There is heavy police and paramilitary forces’ deployment near the routes leading to the district court complex in Panchkula, where the lawyers have suspended work for three days from Wednesday to avoid inconvenience to the public visiting the courts.