The guru’s followers went on a deadly rampage after he was convicted of rape on Friday.
“The court has ordered 10-year jail term for the accused,” Ram Niwas, senior bureaucrat in charge of law and order in Haryana, told Reuters.
Supporters of Singh’s cult resorted to violent protests last week, which killed at least 38 and injured more than 200 in Haryana state, after a local court found him guilty of raping two women in a case dating back to 2002.
The cult has a vast rural following in the states of Punjab and Haryana.
Police issue shoot on sight order
Police earlier issued orders to shoot protesters on sight ahead of the sentencing of a self-styled guru whose conviction for rape triggered deadly clashes last week.
“We have issued shoot-on-sight orders if anyone tries to start a protest,” said Ram Niwas, a senior bureaucrat in Haryana in-charge of law and order.
Singh’s lawyer told Reuters his client was innocent and would appeal against his conviction.
Authorities imposed curfews in several areas of Haryana and Punjab states, while the capital, Delhi is on alert.
Niwas said Singh would not be taken to court to hear his sentence. Instead, the judge who convicted him would be flown to the jail where he is being held in Rohtak town.
The prison has been transformed into a fortress, with journalists banned from approaching closer than a mile (1.6 km) and roads lined with barbed-wire barricades.
Source: Indian court sentences guru to 10 years for rape | SBS News
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