Dera Sacha Sauda found to have encroached govt land in Odisha

The land measurement exercise was undertaken following an order of revenue minister Maheswar Mohanty .

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s Dera Sacha Sauda ashram in Puri is found to have encroached about 12 decimal of government land in Puri-Konark marine drive area, official sources said on Wednesday.

A view of the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa on August 29, 2017, a day after its chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was sentenced 10 years in jail in each of the two rape cases against him. R (PTI)

A five-member team of revenue department officials headed by the local tehsildar measured the ashram land and found the irregularities today.

The land measurement exercise was undertaken following an order of revenue minister Maheswar Mohanty based on the complaint of local people about the encroachment of government land by the ashram.

“A notice for eviction will is issued to the ashram by the local telsildar. We will get back the encroached land soon,” Puri sub-collector Madhu Sudan Das told reporters.

Sources said Dera Sacha Sauda had purchased four acres from a woman in 2004 and constructed ashram over it.

Puri Sachetana Nagarika Mancha had on Friday staged an agitation before the ashram and raised slogans against the violence by the Dera supporters in Haryana following Gurmeet Singh’s conviction.