Tunnel connecting Dera chief's residence to female disciples' hostel discovered

A tunnel and a passageway connecting Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's residenceto the hostel of his female disciples were found by the security agencies during the second day of a massive search operation inside the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa, Haryana.

The passageway was discovered from the "gufa" where Gurmeet Ram Rahim used to stay till the 'Sadhvi Niwas', the hostel of his female disciples, a senior government official told the press.

He added that a "fibre tunnel filled with mud" has also been located during the search operation.

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"The derawas is connected to Sadhvi Niwas,"deputy director (Public Relations) of the Haryana Government said.

Officials also sealed an illegal explosives factory which was found inside the sprawling 700-acre premises.

The search operation inside the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters continued through Saturday amid heavy security presence and ended in the evening.

"Explosives and fire crackers have been seized from the headquarters," Satish Mehra said, adding that chemicals used for making explosives were also found.

During the on-going search, an empty box for cartridges of AK 47 was also recovered, the deputy director said.

Hordes of police, paramilitary and civil administration personnel were involved in the mammoth search operation which started yesterday on the direction of Punjab and Haryana High Court.

On Friday, a forensic team searched the "gufa" where Ram Rahim Singh sexually assaulted the two women, reports said.

Mobile internet services have been shut down in Sirsa and curfew around the Dera headquarters continued for the second day of the search operation.