Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

The Dera head

The case against the Dera chief

Special CBI court convicts Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in rape case

NEW DELHI:was found guilty of rape by a special CBI court in Panchkula , Haryana, on Friday. He was immediately taken into judicial custody; he will be sentenced on Monday.was present in court when the judgment was read out.Following which thousands of followers of Ram Rahim, who is the head of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda , went on the rampage, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after a special CBI court convicted him in a 2002 rape case Police responded by opening fire.The unrest which began in Panchkula where the verdict was handed down, spread to other parts of Haryana andthe civil hospital here and at PGIMER hospital.Police fired in the air, lobbed tear gas and let loose water cannons on the protesters who included a large number of women.Curfew was also clamped in Panchkula.Curfew is also in place in Sirsa while Kaithal town was also brought under curfew this evening.At least 32 incidents of violence and arson were reported from Malwa region of Punjab, police said. However, no casualty was reported.Curfew was clamped in Mansa, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Patiala, Sangrur and Barnala and Faridkot, the areas considered as stronghold of the Dera followers.But the curfew had little effect on the protesters, who also set fire to Malout and Balluanna railway stations in Punjab, according to the Northern Railways. Many motorcycles, cars and buildings, including an Income Tax building