Ram Rahim, 4 others acquitted in 2002 murder case
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four others in the 2002 murder case of Dera manager Ranjit Singh. The division bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Lalit Batra allowed the appeals filed by the five against their conviction order by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court. This decision overturns an October 2021 ruling that found them guilty under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Background of the Ranjit Singh murder case
Ranjit Singh was murdered on July 10, 2002, in Kurukshetra's Thanesar jurisdiction. A First Information Report (FIR) for murder and criminal conspiracy was registered at the Thanesar police station. The high court ordered a CBI investigation into the case on November 10, 2003. It was suspected that he was murdered because of his alleged role in circulating a letter which narrated how women were being sexually exploited by the sect head at the Dera headquarters.
Details of the initial conviction and charges
In October 2021, the CBI court of Panchkula held Ram Rahim, Jasbir Singh, Sabdil Singh, Krishan Lal, and Avtar Singh guilty of offenses punishable under IPC sections. These included Section 302 (murder), Section 120b (criminal conspiracy), and Section 506 (criminal intimidation). Additionally, Sabdil Singh was found guilty under Section 27 of the Arms Act, 1959. After the CBI court's conviction, the sect chief appealed to the high court.
Ram Rahim's current convictions and pending appeal
Ram Rahim is currently serving time in Rohtak's Sunaria jail for his conviction in the murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and for raping two of his disciples. The same anonymous letter that led to Singh's murder was highlighted in a news report by Chhatrapati, who was later killed. However, Ram Rahim's appeal in Chhatrapati's murder case is still pending.
