Ram Rahim verdict: 10 buses torched in Delhi, 2 rail bogies burnt, Section 144 enforced

The spiral of violence triggered minutes after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted on Friday in a rape case engulfed Delhi too, sending the police in a tizzy.

Late Friday night, Delhi Police imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 CrPC across 11 police districts. The order prevents assembly of more than four persons. Incidents of arson were reported from at least 12 places across the Capital.

The police control room continued to receive calls, reporting violence — mainly torching of DTC buses, till late Friday night. The protesters targeting DTC buses prompted Delhi Transport Corporation to suspend bus operations to border towns of Faridabad, Bahadurgarh and Gurgaon in Haryana and Noida, Ghaziabad and Loni in Uttar Pradesh.

At Anand Vihar railway station, two bogies of Rewa Express parked in the yard were burnt . Police personnel had been deployed at the facility prevent further damage to rail property.

“There are no eyewitnesses so we can’t say for sure about who did it. We are preparing a report and also lodging a police complaint,” Narendra Kumar, senior section engineer, said.

Police arrested seven people, allegedly supporters of Ram Rahim. Delhi police spokesperson Madhur Verma said rioters across the city “could manage to burn the buses partially” but major untoward incident was reported.

“There were miscreants who came on the road and tried to torch buses. There was partial damage to the buses. Additional security personnel with senior officers are monitoring the situation. No gathering of protesters is being allowed. We have put adequate security measures in place,” said DCP Verma.

Read | Cases of arson in Delhi, 3 arrested while trying to set fire to bus

Verma also said vigil has been tightened at the borders. “Additional forces have been posted in border areas. There will be patrolling at night too. We have sought additional forces from the Centre,” he said.

Among those arrested were two men who used kerosene bombs to torch two DTC cluster buses in west Delhi’s Khayala. In Badarpur, a biker named Amit, resident of the nearby Jaitpur village, was arrested for trying to torch a bus.

At Khayala, an eyewitness Babu Khan who runs a paan shop, said, “I was in my shop when people shouted that a bus was on fire. There was a lot of smoke. We came to know that two boys had set the bus on fire. Children had seen the two setting the bus on fire and informed locals who caught them after a chase.”

Locals residents in Loni area, near Jyoti Nagar, told Hindustan Times that they saw 10-12 people, many of whom had their faces covered, attacking two DTC buses with swords and sticks. “They had petrol bombs. We have recorded their videos,” said an eye witness.

“We will take stern action against those indulging in violence. If the gathering has anything to do with the Ram Rahim verdict, we will book them for defying prohibition. Those not connected to the event will be advised to disperse,” Verma said.

Delhi lieutenant governor Anil Baijal appealed for peace in Delhi after cases of arson were reported in the city following conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim, chief of Dera Sacha Sauda sect, in a rape case.

Baijal spoke to police commissioner Amulya Patnaik on Friday evening and directed him to prevent further violence.