HM reviews security situation in north India post-Dera violence; meet underway

New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday reviewed the security situation in north India, particularly Haryana where violence following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief in a rape case has claimed 31 lives, officials said.

Top officials, including Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and Intelligence Bureau chief Rajiv Jain, gave detailed presentations about the situation in Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and chiefs of paramilitary personnel were also present at the meeting. 

The home minister was apprised about the steps taken to maintain law and order and restore peace, said an official privy to the development.

While Panchkula and Sirsa were "very tense", the situation in the rest of the state was "tense but under control", the minister is believed to have been told.

The death toll in the violence that erupted in Haryana after the rape conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has climbed to 31, the Home Ministry said.

Curfew has been imposed in several places in Haryana and Punjab while prohibitory orders have been imposed in nine districts of Uttar Pradesh, all but two districts of Delhi and one district in Rajasthan following massive violence, an official said.

Apart from Haryana, there were reports of sporadic violence in Punjab, Delhi and Rajasthan where police have taken precautionary measures to foil any attempt to disturb peace.

At least 20,000 paramilitary personnel were deployed in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh to assist the local police to deal with the law and order situation.