Dera violence: Court drops murder bid, sedition charges against 53 accused
In a major setback to the Haryana Police, a local Panchkula court has dropped sedition and attempt to murder charges against 53 Dera Sacha Sauda followers in the Panchkula violence case.
Top aides of dera chief, Panchkula dera in-charge Chamkaur Singh and media coordinator Surinder Dhiman Insan, are among the accused.
The court while exonerating all the 53 accused, reasoned that the police failed to submit incriminating evidences, including CCTV footage to fortify the allegations.
The accused were discharged from the offences punishable under Section 307, 121 and 121-A, IPC.
The case, however, will continue to run under sections like 353, 332, 148, 149, 186, 188, 283 and 120-B.
All the 53 persons will face trial in the case of violence and other sections in the court of chief judicial magistrate, Panchkula.
Thirty-six people lost their lives in Haryana after Dera Sacha Sauda followers went on a rampage following the conviction of their sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here in a rape case.
OneIndia News