Chandigarh:
The Punjab and Haryana High Court cleared Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim of the murder charge against a former Dera officer today. In 2002, Ranjit Singh, a member of the state-level committee of the Dera, was shot and killed. The death is said to have been connected to his alleged involvement in spreading a letter, written in secret, detailing how Ram Rahim was abusing women sexually at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa, Haryana.
Ram Rahim and four other defendants in the murder case were found guilty by a CBI court in 2021 and given life sentences. The special court ruled that there is proof, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the Dera chief, offended by the letter’s dissemination, plotted to kill Ranjit Singh alongside the other accused. In the high court, the 56-year-old Dera leader had contested this conviction. Today, the other four individuals found guilty by the CBI court were also found not guilty.
The contentious Dera chief is currently incarcerated following his conviction for the rape of two sadhvis at the dera and for the death of writer Ram Chander Prajapati, who had written extensively on the claims of sexual assault against the powerful Dera chief.
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Following the launch of the CBI’s investigation into the horrific claims of sexual assault against Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the Dera Sacha Sauda gained national attention. The Dera chief claimed he was impotent in 2014, a decade after the investigation started, but the court disregarded this. Several localities saw rioting and arson after his conviction in 2017. Over 250 people were hurt, thirty people killed, and the Army had to be brought in to stabilize the situation. Ram Rahim has appealed his conviction in the high court and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the leader of Dera Sacha Sauda, has been cleared by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the murder case of his former manager Ranjit Singh, according to a statement from his attorney on May 28.
The sect leader with headquarters in Sirsa is presently being held at Sunaria jail in Rohtak. He is also serving a 20-year jail sentence for the rape of two of his followers.
The attorneys representing Gurmeet Ram Rahim stated today that they are pleased with the ruling of the high court and that the Dera chief has total faith in the legal system.
In the 2002 Ranjit Singh murder case, the Punjab and Haryana High Court cleared Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four other defendants on Tuesday.
The appeals filed by Ram Rahim Singh, Jasbir Singh, Sabdil Singh, Krishan Lal, and Avtar Singh against the conviction order by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in relation to the murder of Dera manager Ranjit Singh were allowed by a division bench of Justices Sureshwar Thakur and Lalit Batra. The high court has not yet made the comprehensive order public.
The defendants Jasbir Singh, Sabdil Singh, and Krishan Lal were found guilty of an offence under Section 302 (murder) read with 120 b (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by the CBI court in Panchkula in October 2021. Ram Rahim, the chief of Dera, Avtar Singh, Jasbir Singh, Sabdil Singh, and Krishan Lal were found guilty of offenses under Section 302 of the IPC, Section 506 (criminal intimidation), and Section 120 b of the IPC. Additionally, Sabdil Singh was found guilty of an offense under Section 27 of the Arms Act of 1959 by the CBI court.
On July 10, 2002, Ranjit Singh, a manager of the Dera in Sirsa, Haryana, was killed. The crime occurred within the jurisdiction of the Thanesar police station in Kurukshetra.
At the Thanesar police station, a formal complaint was filed on allegations of murder and criminal conspiracy. The CBI was instructed by the high court to look into the case on November 10, 2003.
The Dera chief allegedly accused Ranjit Singh of disseminating an anonymous letter among the Dera followers, according per the CBI chargesheet. The letter’s contents accused the Dera chief of abusing women followers, or sadhvis, inside the Dera for sex. Journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, who works in Sirsa, had drawn attention to this identical letter in a news article.
After then, Chhatrapati was slain. In the Chhatrapati murder case, the Dera chief was found guilty of murder. The head of Dera is also said to have plotted to assassinate Ranjit Singh since he believed that man was the author of the letter.
