Mortal remains of Sant Rama Nand reaches Punjab

State funeral for Sant Rama Nand, cremation at 4 PM
AMRITSAR: Security in and around Jallandhar district has been tightened by the Punjab Government in view of cremation of  Sant Ramanand, the slain Dera Sachkhand Ballan leader who was shot in aVienna temple on May 24.



The Punjab government as a precautionary measure has deployed army at sensitive points in Jalandhar city which is close to dera Sach Khand where Sant Rama Nand will be cremated at 4 PM on Thursday.

The body of Sant Ramanand, the slain Dera Sachkhand Ballan leader who succumbed to bullet injuries following attack in Vienna temple on May 24, was brought here by 15 seater aircraft, arranged by the state government, had senior state officials besides two doctors and nurses on board.

Sect Chief Sant Niranjan Das, who was injured in the attack also came to India in the same flight late last night at the national capital New Delhi.

The body and the injured sect chief was airlifted to the dera in Ballan, near Jalandhar by a special chopper of Indian Air Force. The cremation of Sant Ramanand will take place at Jalandhar at 4 PM today. The Punjab government has run up a bill of over Rs one crore for chartering the plane and helicopter.

Sant Rama Nand who commands vast influence among Bhagat Ravidass sect would be give state funeral, official sources said. The dead body wrapped in the national flag of India would be placed for public homage. The Chief Minister of Punjab and his cabinet colleagues would lay wreth on the dead body.
 
Tens of thousands of followers of Sant Ramanand were already there to receive the body. Additional forces had been deployed to maintain law and order as thousands of followers of the Dera from various parts of Punjab and other states were expected to attend the cremation at Ballan, about 15 km from Jalandhar.

Routes of several state-run and private buses plying on Ludhiana-Jalandhar, Jalandhar-Pathankot and Jalandhar-Amritsar routes would be diverted tomorrow so that there are no traffic jams and blockades in and around Jalandhar, he said. Meanwhile, situation in violence-hit areas of Punjab remained normal today, even as night curfew was still in force as a precautionary measure at Jalandhar, Phagwara, Ludhiana, Malout and Hoshiarpur.