For violence and arson that happened at Panchkula on August 25 by the Dera Sacha Sauda followers after the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court convicting their sect head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case, the Haryana police have arrested 524 persons under eight different FIRs registered against the Dera followers.

Addressing mediapersons on Saturday, Haryana Chief Secretary DS Dhesi said two cases of sedition had been registered against Dera followers. However, the exact number of persons booked for sedition are yet to be clarified.

The police have recovered one AK 47 rifle and one Mauser from a vehicle of a Dera follower, and two rifles, five pistols from another vehicle during the operations. Investigations are underway, he added.

He said that there have been 32 causalities in the state out of which 28 are in Panchkula. In all, 28 persons, including 24 men, three women and one child, were killed during the violence in Panchkula.

As many as 250 persons were injured, including 50 police personnel. Of these, 101 persons have been referred to hospitals outside Panchkula for the treatment, whereas, 31 have been discharged. The 61 persons undergoing treatment include six police personnel, 24 from Punjab, 22 from Haryana and four each from Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, he added.

The official further stated that none of the injured belongs to Panchkula. The identities of those killed are being established and a postmortem examination is being carried out to ascertain the cause of death.

Dhesi said the mob burnt 28 vehicles, including some belonging to the government besides setting on fire two government buildings, namely offices of the Income Tax Department and HARTRON. Besides, six private shops were damaged and two other structures, including an ATM of HDFC Bank, were also set on fire.

He further stated that the law-and-order situation is being maintained and constantly monitored in the entire state, and no incident has occurred anywhere after 6.30 p.m. on Friday. As many as 101 companies of paramilitary have been deployed in the state, six columns of the Army have been deployed in Panchkula, and four in Sirsa. Curfew has been relaxed in Panchkula and Sirsa.

Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) BS Sandhu said that the police had made adequate security arrangements and Army presence had been requested to bolster the confidence of the people.

Replying to another question regarding the resumption of the bus and rail services, he said that the situation would be reviewed later during the day.

Meanwhile, the Haryana government has suspended Ashok Kumar, IPS, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Panchkula. According to official information, he has been suspended for carelessness during the Panchkula episode.