Chandigarh: Dera Sauda Sirsa chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim who was convicted in two rape cases and sentenced to 20 years of Rigorous Imprisonment earlier this month again appeared in front of CBI court judge this time in connection with two murder cases pending against him.
The dera chief appeared before the judge via video conferencing, could end up spending his entire life in jail if he’s convicted. In the most extreme case, he could be sent to the gallows, media reports suggests.
It is alleged that Gurmeet Ram Rahim ordered the killings of former Dera Sacha Sauda manager Ranjit Singh and Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhattrapati, who were responsible for making public an anonymous letter that revealed information about Dera chief’s rapes.
The letters reportedly narrated the harrowing tale as to how Dera chief ues to sexually exploited female followers at his sprawling Sirsa ashram.
As reported by the media the prosecution, Gurmeet Ram Rahim suspected that Ranjit Singh, then a manager at the Dera headquarters in Sira, was responsible for leaking the letter and so, had Ranjit killed. Ram Chander Chhattrapati, on the other hand, played a direct role in making those letters public. Chhatrapati came across the anonymous letter and unhesitatingly published it in Poora Sacch, the local daily that he then ran.
Soon after the letter was published, the Punjab and Haryana High Court took note of the allegations and directed the then district and sessions judge in Sirsa to order a probe into the matter.
Furthermore, after Chhatrapati published the anonymous letter in his daily, the journalist was subsequently shot shot dead from point-blank range right outside his house on October 24, 2002.
The agency also launched a separate murder probe, ultimately filing a charge-sheet accusing Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of ordering the two murders. The hearing on these cases shall resume next week on Monday in a special CBI court setup for this purpose, note India Today.