Areas in Haryana and Punjab, affected by the arson and violence caused by Dera Sacha Sauda followers, were peaceful on Sunday morning as security forces remained on high alert, official said.
Curfew was withdrawn in Panchkula, adjoining Chandigarh, which saw the maximum violence on Friday after the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape and sexual exploitation case by the CBI special court.
Curfew was also withdrawn in Kaithal town of Haryana while it was relaxed in Sirsa, 260 km from here.
The death toll in the violence has risen to 36. As many as 30 persons died in Panchkula and six were killed in Sirsa town. Over 250 people were injured in the violence that also left properties worth crores of rupees damaged.
The DSS headquarters near Sirsa is still surrounded by the Army and paramilitary forces and appeals are being made to Dera followers to vacate the 800-acre sprawling complex.
Authorities on Saturday got the sect complexes across Haryana (except Sirsa) vacated. Some of the complexes were sealed.
Security forces recovered sticks, rods and other materials to make petrol bombs in search operations in the complexes.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said all 98 campuses of the sect were searched and sanitised.
An uneasy calm prevailed in Punjab and Haryana on Saturday as the Army and paramilitary forces continued to patrol several places across the two states throughout the night.
Meanwhile, the Punjab and Haryana High Court reprimanded the Haryana and the central governments over the deadly rioting by Rahim’s followers. The Manohar Lal Khattar government in Haryana confronted sharp words as the court said: "You let a city like Panchkula burn for political motives."
(With IANS inputs)
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