Mansa, India - At least 20 people were wounded after followers of Dera Sacha Sauda sect clashed with a group of Sikhs in a small village in Punjab's Mansa District today.
The clash began after some villagers objected to Dera members performing a ritual that led to the two groups pelting stones at each other.
Twelve people are seriously wounded and are recuperating in a nearby hospital.
The Dera Sacha Sauda sect has been embroiled in controversies following its chief Baba Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh allegedly donned the attire of the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh.
A case was registered against him following a complaint by a Bathinda resident, who accused Singh of hurting the religious sentiments of Sikhs.
His projection as Guru Gobind Singh led to widespread agitations across the country, and to a locking of horns with the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC), which sought an unqualified apology from him.