Thousands bid farewell to Sant Rama Nand

Earlier, the body of Sant Rama Nand, who was killed in an attack by Sikh radicals at Vienna, was flown to India in a chartered plane sent by the Punjab government.

The sect head, Sant Niranjan Dass, who was also injured in the May 24 attack, accompanied the body of his deputy to the dera headquarters at Ballan village near Jalandhar.

The body of the 57-year-old slain spiritual guru was kept in a glass coffin inside the dera headquarter to enable devotees to pay their last respect to the departed soul. A host of politicians including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and senior Congress leader Amarinder Singh turned up at the sect headquarters to pay their last respects to the sant.

The attack on the sect preachers had instigated a wave of anger among predominantly dalit devotees of the dera as they blocked rail and road traffic, burnt government property and vehicles, bringing normal life to a standstill in Punjab for two days in the last month.