New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS) Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been provided Z-plus security cover during his 21-day release on furlough from a Haryana jail, officials said on Tuesday.
He has been given the high security cover due to threat to his life from 'pro-Khalistan' extremists, officials added.
Rahim is on 21-day furlough from Sunaria jail and is camping in Gurugram. He will be getting 10 NSG security personnel for mobile security and eight security personnel for his residence security. The Haryana government's recommendation to grant the top layer security cover to the convicted sect leader comes following his request.
The Dera chief was released on furlough on February 7 after the Haryana government's conclusion that he does not fall in the category of hardcore prisoners.
Incidently, the 21-day furlough had come just days ahead of the Assembly polls in Punjab that was held on February 20 and he has a large number of followers, particularly in Bathinda, Sangrur, Patiala and Muktsar.
The sect chief has been currently serving life imprisonment for the murder of former journalist Ramchandra Chhatrapati and the rape of two Dera disciples. He was convicted by a special CBI court in Panchkula in 2017.
Soon after his release from the Sunaria jail in Rohtak, he was brought to his ashram in Gurugram. The Haryana police has deployed a heavy security in and near his ashram.
Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Pralhad Joshi, Anurag Thakur, Bhupender Yadav, V. Muraleedharan and Arjun Ram Meghwal held a joint press conference at the Shastri Bhavan here on Thursday and condemned the 'unruly' and 'violent' behaviour of the opposition parties led by the Congress.
Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states as well as where the party is in power as part of an alliance, including Tamil Nadu's M.K. Stalin (DMK), Maharashtra's Uddhav Thackeray (Shiv Sena) and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren (JMM) will also be invited.
Besides, the All India Congress Committee, the Maharashtra and Mumbai verified Congress handles, that of Congress Legislative Party leader and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat, Mumbai Congress President Bhai Jagtap, state party social media head Abhijeet Sapkal, and around 500 other leaders at various level have been blocked on Twitter.
Meanwhile, the wreckage of the state roadways bus that fell into a 500 metre deep gorge following the massive landslide was recovered this morning, rescuers said.
Senior Home Ministry officials on Thursday reviewed the status of the investigations in the two rape cases in Delhi with officials of the Delhi Police. The review was done on the instructions of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the officials said.
All agencies such as the Crime Branch, Intelligence Bureau, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) unit, Harayana Police Commandos and Government Railway Police (GRP) have been placed on high alert.
