Security stepped up at Dera centres in Bengaluru, Mysuru

Security has been stepped at the Dera Sacha Sauda Ashram branches on the outskirts of Mysuru and Bengaluru following the conviction of the cult’s chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, in a rape case and the violence that ensued in parts of north India. Soon after the verdict was announced on Friday, hundreds of supporters gathered at the ashram situated near the 8th milestone at Peenya in Bengaluru and conducted bhajans for sometime. As a precautionary measure, the local police stepped up security. However, a few hours later, the supporters vacated the premises, locked the ashram and dispersed. On Saturday, no one turned up at ashram, but a police team continued to provide security cover. At a ashram located on the Mysuru–Bengaluru highway, near Kalasthawadi, in Naganahalli Gram Panchayat limits, a board identifies it as Param Moksh Ashram and as a branch of Dera Sacha Sauda. Nearly two dozen policemen have been deployed at the ashram constructed on a 2.5-acre plot. The Dera chief had visited Mysuru in June 2008 and stayed here for some days, but the local authorities have deemed the construction of the ashram as a violation of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964. As the land purchased was agricultural, it had to be alienated if it was to be used for non-agricultural purposes.