In pictures: Preacher's Punjab funeral

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal pays his last respects along with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal

UP Chief Minister Mayawati at the funeral

Mourners including the chief minister of the Indian state of Punjab gathered amid tight security for the funeral of a preacher whose killing in Austria last month sparked angry riots in the state.

HIDE CAPTIONS START SLIDESHOW

Image 1 of 10

Mourners including the chief minister of the Indian state of Punjab gathered amid tight security for the funeral of a preacher whose killing in Austria last month sparked angry riots in the state.

Among the mourners attending the funeral of Sant Ramanand was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh state, Mayawati, one of India's best known lower caste leaders. She paid a fulsome tribute to Mr Ramanand.

Roads around the city of Jalandhar were deserted as a large contingency of the police and army were put on alert to prevent a repeat of the violence which spread across Punjab last month after Ramanand's murder.

Women devotees pay their last respects to the body of slain Sant Rama Nand - 4 June 2009

The cremation took place without any violent incidents in front of thousands of mourners after Mr Ramanand's body was brought by a special flight to the Dera Sach Khand sect headquarters on the outskirts of Jalandhar.

Sikh devotees gather to pay their last respects to the body of slain Sant Rama Nand - 4 June 2009

Sant Ramanand was a leader of the controversial Dera Sach Khand sect, which is made up almost equally of lower caste Hindus and poorer Sikhs.

Sant Rama Nand's body at Vienna"s central cemetery - 2 June 2009

He was killed in late May during a religious ceremony in Vienna by followers of a rival Sikh group. His body remained at Vienna's central cemetery until it was flown back to India on 3 June 2009.

Sant Ramanand's coffin is carried ahead of his funearl - 4 June 2009

Although Sant Ramanand commanded the devotion of thousands of lower caste Hindus and poorer Sikhs, many mainstream Sikhs regard the sect's beliefs as offensive.