Report on Panchkula riot says 1000 rounds were fired on Dera followers

An examination of the projectiles found in the bodies of the victims indicated that they came from SLRs, carbines and Insas rifles, the kinds used by law enforcement agencies.

Security forces walk next to burning vehicles set alight Dera premis of Gurmeet Ram Rahim SIngh convicted of rape in Panchkula. (AFP)

CHANDIGARH: On August 25, the day the peaceful town of Panchkula convulsed in the rioting triggered by the rape conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the Haryana Police and paramilitary forces fired 1000 rounds to control the mob. Thirty people fell dead to the bullets.

This and other details of that deadly day were revealed to Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar at a review meeting he called on Thrusday. In the face of all-round criticism of his government’s handling of the rioting as well as the buildup to it, Khattar asked for a report on how exactly the situation went out of control and what exactly the security forces did in response.

As reported by this newspaper the day after the violence, all the 32 victims died of bullet injuries. The post-mortem reports revealed that most of them were shot hit in the head or chest or in the back. Most of the 267 people who were injured also suffered bullet injuries of a similar nature.

The 1,000 rounds of ammunition expended on the rioters were fired by both Haryana policemen and paramilitary personnel. An examination of the projectiles found in the bodies of the victims indicated that they came from SLRs, carbines and Insas rifles, the kinds used by law enforcement agencies.

The casualties occurred at the HAFED roundabout, the Kalka-Shimla highway that cuts through Panchkula, Devinagar village. Some six people died near house number 472 in Sector 2. Three people died in front of house number 588 in Sector 4.

’Former director-general of UP Parkash Singh said it is a norm of riot control for security personnel to fire mostly in the air to disperse the crowd. “Generally, if police open fire, it is aimed below the waist to disable a rioter, not to kill,’’ he said.

Sources in the police said the situation in Panchkular that day got bad enough for the Army to be asked to be ready to move in. Soldiers did assemble at the army ground in Kalagram in Chandigarh along with the duty magistrates designated by the Haryana government. The magistrates were briefed by their senior officers that if at all the Army had to open fire, their instructions were to fire around 14 bullets per round and that too below the waist. However, the Army personnel were not called by the Panchkula DCP until 4 pm, which was too late.