Search operation at Dera headquarters ends; internet, rail services to resume in Sirsa from Monday

Sirsa/Chandigarh: Search operation at the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters near Haryana`s Sirsa town was completed on Sunday.

Haryana government spokesman Satish Mishra said in the evening, "Search operation at Sirsa's Dera HQ has been completed. Court Commissioner will submit his report to Punjab and Haryana High Court."

Mishra added, "SMS, internet and Railway services in Sirsa will resume from Monday. Curfew will remain imposed till tomorrow. It will be reviewed tomorrow evening. Relaxations will be given in morning and evening," as per ANI.

On Saturday, two secret tunnels, including one that connected the Dera chief's residence with the hostel for female disciples and an illegal firecracker factory were unearthed on the second day of the massive sanitisation exercise at the sect headquarters.

An empty box of AK 47 cartridges, 84 cartons of fire crackers and chemicals from the illegal factory, besides hundreds of pairs of shoes, designer clothing and caps, were also found.

The illegal fire cracker factory has been sealed and a case under the Explosives Act had been registered against the factory owner, PTI reported.

The search was launched on the premises of the Dera in the wake of conviction of sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in two rape cases last month and the subsequent violence by his supporters.

He has been jailed for 20 years.

The Dera's sprawling headquarters include a township of its own, with schools, a sports village, a hospital, a shopping mall and a cinema hall.

The property is also home to an ostentatious '7-star MSG resort' with replicas of Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, Kremlin and Disney World inside.

Hordes of police, paramilitary and civil administration personnel carried out the search operation on the direction of Punjab and Haryana HC.

The entire sanitisation process has been being videographed and was overseen by retired District and Sessions Judge, AKS Pawar.

(With Agency inputs)