A group of truck drivers from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu were caught in the violence that broke out in Haryana on Friday after a court convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim Singh of rape.
The drivers were in Panchkula to load a consignment of apples. However, they said they were mistaken for Dera followers and were beaten up by some uniformed officials. While some reports said it was a group of 13, others said there were ten drivers. The group had parked the trucks near an open ground in Sector 3 of the city, where many Dera supporters were also gathered.
Subramani, a 52-year-old truck driver from Salem district in Tamil Nadu, said the personnel beat them and also damaged their vehicles despite repeated pleas. “We kept telling them with folded hands that we have nothing to do with the Dera...But nobody listened to us,” he told The Indian Express. Another driver added that language was also a huge barrier.
The drivers also said they were not sure if the uniformed personnel were Haryana Police officials or from the paramilitary forces.
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