New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asserted in his radio programme ‘Mann ki Baat’ this morning that any person or group of people “taking the law in their hands will not be spared.” He said violence in the name of faith is unacceptable, in comments that come two days after followers of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh erupted in violence that left a deadly trail of death and destruction in the small, peaceful town of Panchkula, about  15 km from Chandigarh.

“I want to assure my fellow countrymen that people who take the law into their own hands and are on the path of violent suppression — whether it is a person or a group — neither this country nor any Government will tolerate it.”