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Sikhs protest blasphemy in Punjab

VIOLENT PROTEST: Dera Sacha Sauda followers rioted<br /> in Bhatinda on Tuesday.” title=”VIOLENT PROTEST: Dera Sacha Sauda followers rioted<br /> in Bhatinda on Tuesday.” /><br /> <br />VIOLENT PROTEST: Dera Sacha Sauda followers rioted<br /> in Bhatinda on Tuesday. </div> <p> Bhatinda: </strong>A protest by followers of Dera Sacha Sauda, a Sikh religious sect, in Punjab turned violent in Bhatinda with the supporters of Dera head Baba Gurmeet Singh Ram Raheem torching a police jeep.</p> <p>They were protesting the burning of the effigy of the Dera chief by the Akalis on Monday.</p> <p>The trouble began after newspaper advertisements allegedly showed Baba Gurmeet Singh Ram Raheem attired like 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh and the Akalis protested the advertisements that also showed the Dera head distributing "amrit".</p> <p>Tensions had been brewing between the ruling Akalis and Dera supporters ever since Dera supporters were told to vote for the Congress in the recent Assembly polls. The Congress had done well in the Malwa belt following the dictate.</p> <p>The situation is also tense in Amritsar where the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex Sikh body, had a meeting but no decision has been taken by them.</p> <p>Many expected them to come out with an edict that would have seen the Sikhs taken a confrontational stance against the Dera followers.</p> <p>The Dera has massive support among Dalit Sikhs and played a major role in the 2005 Punjab Assembly polls.</p> <p>BJP leaders like Navjot Singh Sidhu and Arun Jaitley had even approached the Dera head for his blessings so that he would withdraw an edict that his followers should vote for the Congress.</p> <p>In fact in the Punjab polls, Congress had done well in the Malwa region which includes districts of Bhatinda, Ferozepur, Muktsar, Sangrur, Moga, Mansa where Dera has following and Congress recovered lost ground.</p> <p>According to sources Dera had a trade-off with Congress during the polls to go slow on a murder case against Dera head of a journalist Chatrapati in 2002. Two persons suspected of killing him were found with a walkie-talkie which had Dera Sacha Sauda written on it.</p> <p>Dera Sacha Sauda is a non profitable organization, which is based in Sirsa, Haryana and claims to have over 30 million followers. It was set-up by a saint Shah Mastana in 1948.</p> <p><a onclick=http://www.ibnlive.com/news/ad-angers-sect-followers-run-amok-in-punjab/top/40627-3.html?xml

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