Reasons are plenty.Sample this: the Haryana government ‘erred’ while issuing a notification under Section 144 banning unlawful assembly of more than five people. For, scores of dera followers were allowed to take positions to unleash havoc post the verdict.Add to this the statement made by Haryana education minister Ram Bilas Sharma that Sec 144 is not applicable to ‘devotion’ of Dera followers. This emboldened the Dera followers.“Bringing him by road gave a clear signal to the Dera followers that the state is unable to handle the situation and deal it with iron hand” said a senior bureaucrat. On Thursday night, the state authorities claimed that the area close to the CBI court has been completely sanitised. Whereas, in reality there were scores of dera followers who spent the night closeby.With bus and train facilities suspended, the over 1.5 lakh dera followers are in no position to travel beyond a few kilometres.

Source: Economic Times August 25, 2017 20:15 UTC