This refers to the editorial, “Iron fist is need of hour” (August 28). Different Governments, keeping their political interests in mind, treat the so-called self-styled godmen in the country with kid gloves. For example, Ram Vriksha Yadav, Asaram Bapu, Sant Rampal and now Gurmeet Ram Rahim just to name a few. The common thread among these leaders is blind faith of their devotees, which if challenged, often culminate in violent outcomes as seen in Haryana's Panchkula recently, where frenzied followers of the said ‘godman’ ran amok setting fire and destroying vast amount of properties, both private and Government. Around 30 people lost lives and around 250 were injured following the Dera chief's conviction in the 1992 rape case.
It is a crying shame that such fraud religious godman exploit the simpletons of the society and make them followers. The devotees’ naivete towards the godman’s heinous designs makes them explicitly ignorant about it. The editorial has hit the nail on the head by observing that such fake religious figures must be punished with iron hands and brought to book with harshest punishment in order to avert recurrence of the same. Nobody should be above the law.