Thousands brave rains to reach Dera for bhandara

NURMAHAL, Jalandhar: A few thousand devotees, women outnumbering men, descended on Divya Jtyoti Jagriti Sansthaan (DJJS) headquarters on the eve of ‘bhandara’ (religious congregation) on Sunday braving the drizzling, chilling weather. They seemed to be drawn by faith that sansthaan founder Ashutosh Maharaj was still in ‘samadhi’ in a deep freezer for more than 10 months and not dead as confirmed by the Punjab and Haryana high court which has ordered for his cremation.
The sansthaan again claimed on Saturday evening that 60,000-70,000 people will converge at the routine monthly congregation despite the inclement weather. It added that no extra people would stay inside the dera after the event was over by Sunday evening. “We are law abiding people and we are not doing anything confrontationist. Only regular volunteers would stay in the sansthaan and extra people would leave and we have told this to district adminstration,” said spokesperson of the DJJS Swami Vishalanand, while speaking to the media on Saturday evening. However, he added that those coming from far off places could stay inside for a couple of days as has been happening in the past.
Meanwhile five-member committee of officials headed by deputy commissioner K K Yadav visited the sansthaan and met senior dera functionaries on Saturday. While officials remained tightlipped on their meeting it was learnt that dera representatives refused to discuss anything on the modalities of the cremation of Ashutosh Maharaj holding that he was in samadhi and also told that they still had hopes of judicial relief.
Sources said that while police had made elaborate arrangements to meet any exigency and administrations was preparing for executing HC order about last rites in case the DJJS failed to get any relief from HC by that day.
Amid the steady stream of devotees reaching the sprawling headquarters Sansthaan Vishalanand, brimming with confidence, said that they had still had legal options which they would explore. Responding to a query he held that even if they would not get relief from the division bench of the high court they would be granted time to another appeal and their legal team was ready.
Most of those who were arriving, including women, were being given duties as volunteers. They then went to collect their identity cards from various counters for different services. Not only the Sansthaan functionaries other devotees also remained wary of the media. Vishalanand rued that their case was being “wrongly compared with happenings at another ashram” implying Satlok Ashram of Satpal without taking its name.