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Dera Sacha Sauda chief awarded life for murder

Tuesday, 19 October 2021 | PNS | Chandigarh

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four others were on Monday sentenced to life imprisonment for murder of a former sect manager nearly two decades back.

A Special CBI court in Haryana’s Panchkula district pronounced the verdict, sentencing Ram Rahim and four others for murdering Ranjit Singh in 2002.

The CBI had sought the death penalty under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for Ram Rahim, while the Dera chief pleaded for mercy, appearing via video conference from Rohtak’s Sunaria jail, where he is serving sentence in two cases of rape and for the murder of a journalist.

The others convicted by the court for the crime are Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, Avtar Singh, and Sabdil.

The court also imposed a penalty of Rs 31 lakh on Ram Rahim, half of the amount will be given to the victim’s family as compensation. The court has imposed a penalty on other accused as well.

The CBI court had held Ram Rahim and four others guilty under Sections 302 (murder) and 120 b (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code on October 8.

After the pronouncement of sentence, the victim’s son Jagseer Singh while talking to the mediapersons said the family has finally got justice, though after much delay.

“My grandfather who fought the battle for justice for his son died in 2016. I was just eight-year-old when my father was murdered in a cold-blooded manner. Today, after 19 years, my family can sleep in peace,” he said.

Tight security arrangements were made at the Panchkula district court complex for the pronouncement of the judgement and the local authorities had imposed prohibitory orders.

Earlier, the CBI court had deferred the pronouncement of the quantum of sentence on October 12.

Ram Rahim had attended hearings relating to the pronouncement of sentences virtually. He pleaded for mercy on the plea of the charitable works that the sect carried out when he was heading it.

The CBI, on the other hand, opposed the Dera chief’s plea, saying the victim treated him as “god” and the accused committed offences against him. It said Ram Rahim had criminal antecedents and committed the offence in a cold-blooded manner.

Ranjit, a former follower of Ram Rahim, was shot dead by four assailants on July 10, 2002, at his native Khanpur Kolian village in Kurukshetra. According to the CBI chargesheet, he was murdered as Ram Rahim suspected that he was behind the circulation of an anonymous letter highlighting the sexual exploitation of women disciples on the Dera premises.

The Punjab & Haryana High Court had earlier dismissed a petition seeking the transfer of the  murder case from the special CBI court in Panchkula to any other special CBI court in Punjab, Haryana or Chandigarh.

Notably, the self-styled godman Ram Rahim was sentenced in August 2017 for 20 years in jail for raping two women. His conviction on August 25, 2017, had led to violence in Panchkula and Sirsa, leaving over 40 people dead and more than 260 injured in Panchkula.

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