AM­RIT­SAR: De­spite gov­ern­men­tal claims of readi­ness and po­lice im­po­si­tion of pro­hibitory or­ders un­der Sec­tion 144, thou­sands of Dera Sauda Sirsa fol­low­ers have man­aged to reach Panchkula where to­mor­row a judge­ment is likely to be an­nounced in a sex­ual as­sault case with the pseudo-saint Gurmeet Ram Rahim as the prime ac­cused. 

Gi­ani Gur­bachan Singh,, the Jathedar -provost of the Akal Takht Sahib has, asked the Sikhs to “be ready for the things that will pre­vail due to the ver­dict and en­sure safety”. He said the de­r­a’s fol­low­ers can “ma­te­ri­alise any un­for­tu­nate in­ci­dent on the day of the ver­dict un­der their bad in­ten­tions” and that Sikhs should “make arrange­ments for self-de­fence as well as for the se­cu­rity of Gur­d­waras”. Sikhs should gather at gur­d­waras to keep vigil there to pre­vent any un­to­ward in­ci­dent, he added.