Security was beefed up at the Dera Sacha Sauda ashram in Baghpat after a 10-year rigorous imprisonment term was handed out to Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim by a CBI court at Rohtak on Monday.
The state government also strengthened security in the 18 Dera ashrams spread in 12 western UP districts. The DGP office claimed to have provided more than 10 companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) to assist the local police in maintaining peace.
As per reports from Bagpat, local authorities locked the Dera ashram at Barnawa in Binauli area and heavy police force was deployed and no one was being allowed to exit the ashram. The Barnawa Dera ashram is the second largest after Sirsa and Ram Rahim used to sermonise his disciples on the first Sunday of every month.
Earlier on August 25, the day Ram Rahim was convicted by the court, the Barnawa ashram was sealed and top officials were monitoring the situation in and around the ashram.
Meanwhile in Muzaffarnagar and Shamli too, security was
beefed up in view of the sentencing of Dera chief. Shamli district authorities sealed roads connecting the district with Haryana.
“The police were checking all vehicles on Panipat-Kairana and Karnal-Muzaffarnagar highways before letting them enter or leave the district. Additional forces have also been deployed in the district to prevent any exigency and all schools were shut down on Monday,” SP Shamli, Ajaypal Sharma said.