Posters threatening the chief of Dera Sacha Sauda and its followers have appeared in a village here in Punjab, prompting police to step up security for the members of the sect.

Police on Saturday registered a case after computer-generated posters were found pasted on walls in the village Mari Mustfa on Friday, threatening the sect which was locked in a violent stand-off last month with Sikhs.

The posters said that “either Sikhs or Sacha Sauda followers will reside in Punjab,” police said. The discovery of posters spread panic among Dera followers in the village and surrounding areas.

Police have taken strict measures to maintain law and order and for the protection of the Dera Sacha Sauda followers, officials said.

Patrolling by police and para-military personnel has been intensified in rural areas, police said.

Violence rocked Punjab and other surrounding states after Sikhs protested against an alleged blasphemous act of Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh by dressing up as Guru Gobind Singh. The stand-off ended with the apology of the Dera chief.