Army enters Dera headquarters | Tense situation prevails in Sirsa

New Delhi: Tense situation is still prevailing in Punjab and Haryana as Indian Army has entered the Ram Rahim bastion in Sirsa in Haryana, on Saturday, and tried to vacate the Dera headquarters.

The army, in its crackdown, has sealed 36 ashrams of the Dera.

The law and order control in Sirsa has been totally handed over to the armed forces and over 15,000 paramilitary personnel have been deployed to prevent any untoward situation.

According to the official reports, paramilitary forces have surrounded the Dera headquarters and there are over 1,00,000 supporters inside the bastion."

"The Army has been asking the followers to vacate the Dera premise voluntarily. Over 2,000 followers have left but still nearly one lakh people are stationed there," a senior police official said.

In Punjab, curfew was relaxed in Patiala, Bathinda and Ferozepur towns for four hours, while in Haryana it was relaxed in Kaithal town.

In Haryana's Fatehabad town, the Army was deployed to assist the paramilitary and police personnel in maintaining law and order.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has called for a high-level meeting, at his official residence, with home secretary, NSA and IB Chief also present. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has also been summoned to New Delhi.