26 August, 2017
The guru is also under investigation for allegedly encouraging 400 followers to undergo castrations at his ashram in 2015, so that they could get closer to God.
At least a dozen people have been injured in the city.
Police said the violence had broken out in several places across the neighboring states of Haryana and Punjab. Railway stations in the towns of Malout and Balluana were ablaze, and two coaches of an empty train parked in New Delhi's Anand Vihar station were also set on fire.
A number of cities in northern India have been put on lockdown ahead of a verdict which is due to be announced today in a rape trial involving controversial and popular spiritual leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who has been accused of sexual harassment by two of his female followers.
Singh, who had denied raping the two women in 2002, has been taken into protective custody until his sentencing hearing on Monday. He says he'll be taken to the central jail in the town of Rohtak.
Police used water cannon in an attempt to disperse the crowd in the town of Panchkula, and a spokesman for the guru's sect urged his supporters to remain calm.
Mobs set fire to government buildings, and attacked police and TV journalists, smashing the windscreenss of media vans and breaking broadcast equipment.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh: Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted in a 15-year-old rape case by a special CBI court in Panchkula on August 25, 2017.
More than 15,000 police and paramilitary soldiers were posted in and around the court where the guru appeared before a judge, as Panchkula administrators feared an outbreak of violence.
