New Delhi: The Dera Sacha Sauda controversy looks set to be back on the boil. The Akali Dal-led state government gave its nod to the police to arrest Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
Earlier a Bhathinda court had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against him for hurting Sikh sentiments.
The state government however, says its merely acting on the court directive.
Says Advocate General, H S Mattewal, “As per the spirit of order it was supposed to be done. That was the state government’s duty and we have done that.”
But the timing of the decision is significant. It came hours after the Sikh clergy rejected the Dera chief's latest apology.
Punjab had witnessed angry clashes between Sikhs and Dera supporters last month after the Dera chief appeared in an ad attired as the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.
Though the Dera chief had apologised twice since then, the Sikhs are in no mood to relent.
The Punjab Police has time till July 1 to take the Dera chief into custody. But the Dera headquarters is situated at Sirsa in Haryana.
So they will first need to approach the Haryana police. If the arrest doesn’t happen before July 1, Punjab police will have to approach the court for a fresh warrant.
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