2 hurt in dera-Sikh clash near Sirsa

Two men were injured in an alleged clash between Dera Sacha Sauda supporters and members of Sikh community at Jiwan Nagar town, near Sirsa, on Sunday.

Two men were injured in an alleged clash between Dera Sacha Sauda supporters and members of Sikh community at Jiwan Nagar town, near here, on Sunday.

One man each from both groups got injured. Those injured were identified as Jasvir Singh, a resident of Salamkhera village, and Jagtar Singh, a dera supporter. The injured were admitted to the civil hospital here.

Jasvir Singh was reportedly heading back to his village after attending a function at the Ellenabad gurdwara around 4pm with three more persons in a car when a few people in another car started following them.

At the same time, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was on his way back from Rajasthan via the same route and dera devotees were present there in large numbers. The cars stopped at Jiwan Nagar and a fight allegedly ensued between Jasvir and the dera supporters who were following him.

Sources said Jasvir and Jagtar were injured in the clash; the police deployed on the route intervened and prevented the situation from getting out of hand.

A clash had been averted near Ellenabad on Thursday when a few people had tried to show black flags to the dera chief when he was going to Rajasthan. As many as 14 people were booked on the complaint of dera supporters on Friday.

City magistrate Satish Kumar pacified the protesters saying they would take action after probing the issue. SP Rajshree Singh said they were investigating the case and the situation was under control. He said no one would be allowed to take law into their hands.