Coming out in defence of the beleaguered followers of Dera Sacha Sauda, Punjab Health Minister Brahm Mohindra on Friday maintained that the guilty had already been punished and said that the Dera Sacha Sauda Premis will be provided all the security and whatever help and support they needed from the State Government.
“The Premis (Dera followers) are also human being and they are our own people and part of our society,” the Minister said, while adding, they can not be punished for someone else’s (Gurmeet Ram Rahim) fault. “The law has taken its own course and whosoever was guilty has been brought to the book,” he said, while adding, the Premis can not be held responsible for that.
Expressing sympathies with the bereaved families, which lost their members in the police firing in Panchkula, he said, the Government was examining each and every case.
In a statement, Mohinda said, he would raise the matter with Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh so that relief can be provided to the innocent people who were killed or injured in the police firing. “Not all those people who were killed or injured in the police firing were guilty”, he observed, while adding, they were either misled or caught unawares.
The Punjab Minister said, the Congress party and Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh did not believe in discrimination. “We stand by the victims who were caught unawares in the police action and express our sympathies to all of them”, he said, and added strict instructions had been issued for the the safety and security of Dera Premis all over the State.
Mohindra also hailed the Chief Minister’s decision of not closing any Naam Charcha Ghar in Punjab. “People are free to practise and follow any faith they want and our Honourable Chief Minister has already ensured that”, he said.
He congratulated people of Punjab and the Premis for maintaining peace and law and order in the State. “While our police and the administration did an outstanding job, the Dera Premis also deserve our praise for maintaining peace in the State,” he added.