Dera violence: As Haryana burned, Khattar did his best ostrich impression

The violence that resulted in several deaths in Panchkula and Sirsa on Friday, when followers of Dera Sacha Sauda ran riot, is a sordid tale of the Haryana administration turning ostrich and burying its head in the sand.

The government finds itself in an indefensible position, because it was layer upon layer of its failures that led to the situation getting out of control.

Dera-BJP links

It is being pointed out that Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who now stands convicted in a case of rape, had come out on open support of the BJP in the run up to the 2014 Assembly polls. Under such circumstances, the Manohar Lal Khattar government was expected to go easy on his followers.

It is a well-known fact that the Dera has an influence over voters spread in 20 Assembly constituencies in the state, and the BJP victory in seven of these could directly be attributed to the support of Dera voters.

At the same time, it is also being asked why Khattar and his ministers could not use their good relations with the Dera chief and its management to diffuse the situation. The government could have held backdoor negotiations instead of banking on the casual approach of its officials.

“But they tried to be over-smart, adopting the strategy of running with the hares and hunting with the hounds. Can they now explain how, till the last week, top level functionaries of the government were going to the Dera, paying obeisance to the Dera chief? Can they also explain the reportedly confusing statements given by one of the ministers, Ram Bilas Sharma, that Section 144, which prohibits gathering of more than five people at one place, could not be imposed on 'shraddha' (faith)?” asked a senior mediaperson in Chandigarh, who has been covering Haryana for more than a decade.

Imposition of Section 144

In fact, the imposition of Section 144 remains at the centre of the debate. The question being raised is that how can the top officers in the state government hide behind a 'clerical error' with regards to its imposition at such a sensitive juncture? How is it that the clause with regards to gathering of people was not mentioned, and only carrying of arms was mentioned in the notification, that was amended at the eleventh hour when more than a lakh Dera supporters had already reached various sectors in Panchkula?

The failure of the state intelligence agencies has come to light once again. When there were ample inputs on the chances of Dera supporters resorting to violence in the light of judgement, why was no preventive action taken?

Over the last four days, local dailies had been carrying reports of confiscation of things like walkie talkies, baseball bats, petrol bombs, iron rods and sticks. Then what stopped the authorities from taking timely action?

It was for all to see that when the rioting started, Dera supporters were quick to torch vehicles and take out rods. How could they have been allowed to carry these things close to the CBI court?

Director General of Police BS Sandhu said on Saturday that the police had impounded 65 vehicles belonging to Dera supporters, and recovered narcotics, along with three rifles, three pistols and cartridges from them.

Lack of preventive arrests

The most important issue remains the (lack of) preventive arrest of troublemakers, and the timely flushing out of the gathered supporters from Panchkula. Despite orders from the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this regard on Thursday, the state administration failed to do anything concrete over the next 20 hours, when the verdict was announced.

After all, what was the purpose of making arrangements for using the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula and the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium in Chandigarh as temporary jails?

“The entire episode became a nightmare for the residents of Panchkula, who were compelled to remain holed up in their homes. The Dera supporters not only vandalised vehicles, but entered their homes. Police personnel initially did not react, saying they had to wait for 'orders'. It was only when Dera supporters started targeting them with knives and rods that they got into action without 'orders',” said a local resident.

Locals working at facilities providing essential services like telephone connectivity related that they were not allowed to enter public parks during lunchtime, as these had been taken over by Dera supporters who were asking them to show identity cards issue by the Dera. “This simply shows that the parks were allocated to them. How can the government allow this, and that too, in a place like Panchkula, a city that is just about four decades old?” said another resident.

The Haryana government also came in for some scathing criticism from Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who said that the assembly of such a large number of Dera supporters should not have been allowed in the first place when there were intelligence inputs that they could resort to arson and violence.

Police and paramilitary draw flak

State police and paramilitary personnel stood vastly outnumbered by Dera supporters, but are also drawing flak all around for running to safety after deserting their positions at many places. This is something that the Prakash Singh Commission that had probed the Jat agitation had also deliberated on at length.

There is also a lot of criticism doing the rounds on the social media, where people are questioning what is the point of having a top-heavy police force in the state, when it eventually came down to the Army to restore law and order?

One such post has questioned the appointment of multiple Director-Generals of Police (DGP) and Additional Director-Generals of Police (ADGP), besides other senior ranked officers, in the face of episodes like the one at Panchkula.