Maharashtra may ban Dera chief for a year

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MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government is considering a ban on Dera Sacha Sauda chief Baba Ram Rahim from entering the state for one year, Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil announced at a meeting in Sholapur on Friday.

The decision may be fuelled by Sikhs’ apprehension that Baba Ram Rahim will try to disrupt an event at Nanded to mark the 300th death anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh in October-November this year. The event is expected to draw 25-30 lakh Sikhs from all over India. The 10 th Sikh Guru had breathed his last at Nanded (east-central Maharashtra, 650 kilometres from Mumbai) in 1708.

Patil did not specify when the ban will come into force but said that before making any such move he would discuss the implications of the issue with senior leaders and bureaucrats.

Last Friday, anticipating trouble, Baba Ram Rahim’s guards had opened fire at a mob killing one person at a plush mall in Mulund, a central suburb of Mumbai. Following the incident, thousands of Sikhs came together at the spot waving kirpans (swords) and shouting slogans against the Baba and demanding his arrest.

They staged an impromptu protest at the Mulund railway station, Mulund-Airoli Bridge, LBS Road and on railway tracks. The protests continued till the next day disrupting normal life in the city.

RR Patil reportedly received numerous calls from Sikh political leaders of other states to do something in order to calm down the Sikh community in the state.