Violence breaks out across three states leaving 12 dead after court convicts Indian guru of rape

Mobs have rampaged across an Indian town, leaving 12 people dead and buildings in flames, after a court declared a quasi-religious sect leader guilty of raping two of his followers, according to officials.

Security forces used water cannons in an attempt to disperse the crowd as more than 15,000 paramilitary troops and police officers were deployed in the town of Panchkula, near Chandigarh.