Indian PM warns against violence over sentencing of 'rape guru'

Indian Premier Narendra Modi has condemned the mayhem created by followers of a guru convicted of rape and warned against further violence as authorities tightened security a day ahead of his sentencing.

India's self-styled guru and spiritual leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh poses prior to the release of his film 'MSG Messenger of God' II' 2015. Source: AAP

Supporters of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh went on rampage in the northern state of Haryana on Friday after a court held him guilty of raping two women in 2002.

The death-toll from the violence on Sunday climbed to 37, with 31 fatalities from the city of Panchkula and six from the town of Sirsa, where Singh's Dera Sacha Sauda, or True Deal Sect, is headquartered. Over 250 people were injured.

"People who take the law in their hands or take to violence will not be spared, no matter who they are," Modi said in his monthly radio address, referring to the recent clashes.

"India is the land of Mahatma Gandhi and Lord Buddha. Violence is not acceptable in the nation, in any form," he said in Hindi.

A follower of Indian religious leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh pleads for her safety during clashes between controversial guru's followers and security forces. Source: Getty

The 50-year-old guru, who is lodged at a jail in the city of Rohtak, will be sentenced on Monday. He faces a minimum sentence of seven years in jail.

Senior Haryana state official Ram Niwas said "elaborate" security arrangements were in place and Singh's followers were being prevented from reaching Rohtak.

In a crackdown, at least 600 followers were arrested while over 90 local centres of the sect were raided. Weapons, axes, iron-rods and petrol-bombs had been seized.

Dera Sacha Sauda sect supporters topple a vehicle near an Indian court in Panchkula, India, Friday, Aug. 25, 2017. Source: AAP