At least 29 people have been killed in violent protests in India after a court convicted a self-styled “godman” of raping two women, angering thousands of his supporters who said he was innocent.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the head of a social welfare and spiritual group, was found guilty of raping two female followers in a case dating back to 2002 at the headquarters of his Dera Sacha Sauda group in the northern town of Sirsa.
Supporters rampaged in response, attacking railway stations, petrol stations and television vans in towns across the northern states of Punjab and Haryana soon after the verdict was announced, witnesses said.
At least 29 people have been reported dead and more than 250 people were injured in the two states, said BS Sandhu, a top Haryana police official.
Dozens of cars were burning in Panchkula while a bloodied body lay in the middle of a road. About 500 army soldiers were deployed to restore order.
Bupinder Jishtu said he narrowly escaped the protesters’ fury.
“They have burnt my vehicle the devotees of Baba Ram Rahim, in front of me. They have burnt almost 50 vehicles on front of me, and I have saved my life, I got out of the way,” he told Saturday AM.
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