The Army has not been given any order so far to enter the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters, Sirsa sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Paramjit Singh Chahal said on Saturday, even as the defiant followers of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh stayed put at the campus.
"There is still no order for the Army to enter the campus. They are only ensuring enforcement of curfew in the area," Chahal said. The Army along with the police and paramilitary forces has put up barricades at entry points of the Dera Sacha Sauda premises.
Chahal said that a high-level meeting between the Army and the state authorities was underway this afternoon. An estimated one lakh people, including women and children, were present in the sect headquarters.
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The Army and district authorities have been appealing through loudspeakers,asking those inside to leave the premises.
Fifteen Dera followers have been arrested since last night, police said. "We will not spare those who have taken the law in their hands. We will take strict action against then," IG (Hisar) AS Dillo said outside the Dera headquarters. Sources said th Army was last night provided with the map of the sprawling dera campus, which is spread over nearly 1,000 acres and is a township on its own, with schools, sports village, hospital and cinema hall.
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