Detained Dera followers at Sector 5 police station in Panchkula Saturday. (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh/Representational) Detained Dera followers at Sector 5 police station in Panchkula Saturday. (Express Photo by Kamleshwar Singh/Representational)

Around 926 Dera Sacha Sauda followers, including women, have been arrested in 44 FIRs and they are being sent to different jails such as Central Jail Ambala, District Jail Kurukshetra and District Jail Yamunanagar. The FIRs were registered under different charges, including rioting, damaging public property, obstructing public servants from performing their duties and attempt to murder. All the 44 FIRs were registered at Sector 5 police station, Sector 20 police station and Chandimandir police station.

The District Jail Kurukshetra, with a capacity of 446 inmates, has refused to accept more inmates than it can accommodate. A senior police officer said, “Central Jail Ambala and District Jail Yamunanagar can still keep more inmates and we are sending the inmates to these two jails after taking permission from the district courts, Panchkula. The present scenario shows that we will need to contact other jail authorities too.”

According to prison department officials, Yamunanagar jail has a capacity of 446 inmates, Central Jail Ambala has a capacity of 1,228 inmates and District Jail Yamunanagar has a capacity of 1,200 inmates.

ACP (Panchkula) Mukesh Malhotra said, “We have made special requests before the ilaqa magistrates to send the undertrial to different jails as our immediate area jail, Central Jail Ambala, cannot keep all the accused. When we contacted, the Ambala jail authorities said they already had 1,181 inmates.”

All the 926 accused were involved in the violence which was witnessed after the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on August 25. They were injured in the police action, in which 33 people have lost their lives.

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