Uneasy calm after 30 die in India riots over guru verdict

An Indian army soldier stands guard on a street in Panchkula, India, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. Security forces on Saturday patrolled the streets of the north Indian state where rampaging mobs left dozens people dead after a court declared a quasi-religious sect leader guilty of raping two of his followers. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) An Indian army soldier stands guard on a street in Panchkula, India, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017. Security forces on Saturday patrolled the streets of the north Indian state where rampaging mobs left dozens people dead after a court declared a quasi-religious sect leader guilty of raping two of his followers. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

By Associated Press August 26, 2017 1 min read

PANCHKULA, India (AP) – Thousands of security forces have marched through a northern Indian town to maintain calm after supporters of a quasi-religious sect leader protested his rape conviction with violence that left at least 30 dead.

Authorities appealed to thousands of followers of the guru who calls himself Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insaan to vacate his headquarters in Sirsa, a town in Haryana state, and go home.

After a court declared him guilty of rape Friday, mobs set fire to government buildings, vandalized bus stations and government vehicles and attacked police and TV journalists in Panchkula, 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Sirsa.

Police used tear gas and water cannons and fired bullets to control the mobs.