Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh escaped unhurt from a blast that took place just a few metres from his vehicle on National Highway-1 at Manakmajra near the Karnal-Kurukshetra border on Saturday afternoon.

Dera chief was unhurt, but 8 of his followers who were in a vehicle piloting the cavalcade sustained injuries and three vehicles were damaged in the attack. Two of his supporters, Deepen and Dayal, had some serious injuries. They were rushed to the trauma centre in Karnal,

According to the police, explosives bundled in a tyre were tossed from a truck just as the Dera chief’s cavalcade approached it.

VB Singh, ADGP (Additional Director General of Police) Law and Order, told reporters that according to the injured Dera followers, the tyre was hurled from a truck moving ahead of the cavalcade, following which an explosion took place.

BS Malik, Deputy Commissioner of Karnal, told that a team of forensic experts from Madhuban has collected samples from the blast site.

The ADGP said, “The suspected truck and the persons travelling in it have been rounded up. They are being interrogated.”

The police in Harayana and Punjab are on high alert after the attack. Raids at two or three places in Patiala have been conducted by the Punjab police, following the bomb attack on the Dera Sacha Sauda Chief. The raids were conducted following the interrogation of a truck driver and his helper who were detained from the spot of the attack.

Dera Saccha Sauda followers blocked National Highway No 1 near Karnal in Haryana to protest against the blast on Saturday. The block resulted in chaos and traffic congestion.

Dera spokesperson Aditya Arora calls it a clear-cut case of a terrorist attack. He said, “Bombs were dropped from the truck.” He also said that despite repeated threats having been issued to the Dera chief by persons living in Punjab, the Badal government had failed to take any action.

Arora said, “The Scorpio vehicle piloting the cavalcade, was severely damaged. Two vehicles behind the Scorpio were also damaged.”