Dera shows strength in Kotkapura

KOTKAPURA: Two days after the murder of their Punjab committee member Mahinderpal Bittu inside Nabha jail, the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda assembled in large number at the Sirsa-based sect’s congregation centre in Kotkapura as a show of stength on Monday.
The dera, as per insiders, had given a call to assemble to its followers to gather at its ‘Naam Charcha Ghar’ in Kotkapura.Though a considerable number of followers had reached the dera branch even on Sunday, the number rose after the call.
A member of the committee said the dera wanted to show its strength and make a point that its followers were still united and could come on any platform together. He claimed that the dera succeeded in it to some extent. “The assembly of a large number of followers and the anger among them has given us strength; it will go a long way in rejuvenating dera followers,” he said.
The dera committee claimed that it was because of the strength of the followers that the state government agreed to concede to their demand for a high-level probe into Bittu’s killing. “The state government has understood that we are united and will not tolerate any misadventure,” said the committee member.
Agitated over Bittu’s killing, dera followers assembled at Kotkapura on Monday and asked the state government to unmask the conspiracy behind the killing. “We are not against anyone. We only want the truth to be unmasked... It is a coincidence that a peaceful agitation has reached Kotkapura again,” said dera political wing head Ram Singh.