PANCHKULA: At least 32 people were killed on Friday when clashes broke out in northern India after a court convicted a controversial religious leader of raping two of his followers, sparking fury among tens of thousands of supporters who had gathered to await the verdict.

Authorities rushed hundreds of troops to the city of Panchkula after followers of guru Ram Rahim Singh torched cars, threw rocks and attacked television vans, breaking their windows and overturning one.

More than 100,000 were estimated to have gone to the city in Haryana state, where India’s federal investigations agency had set up a special court to rule on the charge that he had raped two female devotees.

Parts of Haryana city placed under curfew; sentencing set for 28th

Authorities said 32 had been killed and around 180 injured after rioting broke out in Haryana, where many areas were now under curfew.

“The situation is tense but under control. The crowds have been dispersed at most places,” he said.

“The crowd outside the court was asked to vacate but they turned violent leading to police action.” Ram Rahim Singh has a vast following in Haryana, where he runs a spiritual movement that claims to have millions of devotees around the world.

Authorities imposed an indefinite curfew in Panchkula, where mobile internet services had earlier been cut off.

“I don’t understand what the government and the police are doing. We have been feeling unsafe since yesterday and all our fears came true today,” local resident Sandeep Singh said.

“Why did the police not act swiftly and forcefully against these followers?”

As news of Singh’s conviction spread there were reports of violence in the neighbouring state of Punjab and on the outskirts of the capital Delhi, which borders Haryana.

“Two train stations have been burnt in Punjab and two empty (train) coaches have been set on fire in Delhi’s Anand Vihar station,” said Neeraj Sharma, a spokesman for Indian Railways.

Hundreds of trains passing through Punjab and Haryana have been cancelled, he said.

Prosecutor Harinder Pal Singh Verma told AFP the guru was “calm after the verdict was passed” and had been flown by helicopter to another city in Haryana. He will be sentenced on Aug 28.

‘Guru in bling’

The 50-year-old self-styled “godman” is known as the “guru in bling” for his penchant for bejewelled costumes, although the source of his apparently vast wealth is unclear.

The rape case was brought against him after an anonymous letter was sent to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002 accusing him of repeatedly raping the sender and several other women in the sect.

A judge asked the Central Bureau of Investigations to look into the accusations, but it took years to trace the alleged victims and it was not until 2007 that two women came forward and filed charges.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2017