By IANS
Sirsa (Haryana) : A Punjab Police team Monday "arrested" Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh from the sect headquarters near here and then bailed him out to complete a legal formality regarding a case registered against him in Punjab.
The "arrest" and the "bail" were done to complete a legal formality arising out of a Punjab and Haryana High Court order earlier this month granting interim bail to the sect chief.
The Punjab Police team also confiscated his passport as per court orders.
The high court, while granting interim bail to the Dera chief after the Bathinda police registered a case against him for hurting religious sentiments of the Sikh community by portraying himself like 10th Sikh guru Gobind Singh, had directed the arresting officers to grant him interim bail if he were arrested.
The next hearing in this case will take place at Chandigarh, 300 km from here, Aug 6.
Police officials in the team that came to the sect headquarters here told IANS that the godman did not cooperate initially but later relented after seeking legal advice from his aides.
The "arrest" of the dera chief was done on paper and he was immediately bailed out.
As the news of the arrival of the Punjab Police team spread, there was tension among Dera followers at the sect headquarters. Many followers assembled at the headquarters in support of their sect chief.
The Dera chief had found himself at the centre of a huge controversy after he attired himself like the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh, angering the Sikh community.
Violent clashes took place between his followers and Sikhs over the issue in Punjab and more recently in Haryana. A court in Bathinda (Punjab) issued an arrest warrant against the Dera chief in June.
Monday's developments are being linked to the Central Bureau of Investigation's move to submit its report Tuesday on the activities of the Dera chief and the sect in connection with the murder of a Sirsa-based journalist, Ram Chandra Chhatrapati, and allegations of sexual exploitation of women inside the sect headquarters.