Violence erupts in Mumbai as Sikhs protest killing by Dera chief's guard

Mumbai/Chandigarh, June 21 : Violence erupted in Mumbai on Saturday as Sikhs protest against the alleged killing of a man by the security guards of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the controversial chief of Dera Sacha Sauda sect.

The protesters gathered in large number and blocked Eastern Express Highway in western Mumbai.

They disrupted traffic and ransacked many vehicles.

However, the Sikh leaders made it clear that their enemy is not the public but the chief of the Dera Sacha Sauda.

"We have requested our brethrens to carry out the protests peacefully as neither public nor the government is our enemy. Our foe is Ram Rahim," said Sardar Tara Singh, Member of Maharashtra State Assembly and Sikh Leader.

According the officials, the protests were confined to a small area near the railway station of Mulund.

A large number of Sikhs took to streets in Chandigarh with an effigy and posters of the Dera chief.

They burnt the effigy and slammed posters with slippers.

Several Sikh organizations have been staging protests in and outside Punjab against the Dera Chief, demanding his arrest.

An inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

ANI