Gurmeet Ram Rahim sentenced for life in 2002 murder case
A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court today sentenced Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to life imprisonment in the murder case of his disciple Ranjit Singh. The special CBI Court of Panchkula pronounced the same punishment for four others in the case. The court had convicted Singh and others on October 8. Here are more details on this.
Rs. 31 lakh fine imposed on the Dera chief
The other accused in the case are Jasbir Singh, Sabdil Singh, Krishan Lal, and Avtar Singh. Inder Sain, another accused, had died during the trial last year. The court has also levied a fine of Rs. 31 lakh on the Dera chief, Rs. 1.5 lakh on Sabdil, Rs. 1.25 lakh each on Krishan and Jasbir, while Avtar will pay Rs. 75,000.
Ram Rahim, lodged in jail, attended sentencing through video call
Ram Rahim, who is currently lodged in Sunaria Jail in Haryana's Rohtak, appeared through video conferencing at the time of sentencing. The four other accused were present in the court. Police had tightened security arrangements at the Panchkula district court complex before today's hearing. In 2017, dozens were killed in that city after a local court had convicted Ram Rahim in a rape case.
Ranjit Singh was murdered in 2002 in Kurukshetra
Ranjit Singh was murdered on July 10, 2002 at his native Khanpur Kolian village in Kurukshetra district of Haryana. A First Information Report (FIR) on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy was registered at the Thanesar Police station at that time. On November 10, 2003, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered a CBI investigation in the case.
Ram Rahim is already serving life sentence for rape
Ram Rahim had suspected Ranjit Singh of circulating an anonymous letter accusing the Dera chief of sexually exploiting several women followers. It was the same letter that Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati had highlighted in his news report. Chhatrapati was also later killed. Notably, Ram Rahim is already serving a life sentence in connection with the rape of two of his women followers.
