Jail will be Ram Rahim Dera for next 20 years
Term to run consecutively, Sauda chief cries for mercy
Amidst high drama, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was on Monday sentenced by a CBI court to 20 years in jail — two sentences of 10 years each for two separate rapes that will run one after the other.
As the punishment was announced by CBI special judge Jagdeep Singh in a makeshift court at Rohtak’s Sunaria prison, the 50-year-old self-styled “godman” broke down, sought forgiveness with folded hands and squatted on the floor, refusing to leave, said sources who witnessed the proceedings.
The Dera chief has been punished for rape and criminal intimidation. He is also facing a separate trial in two separate murder cases in 2002 in which a Dera manager and Sirsa-based journalist were killed.
The CBI special judge, who handed down the punishment to Ram Rahim, was flown by helicopter to Rohtak from Panchkula.
The court announced the sentence against the cult guru at around 4 pm and slapped on him a fine of `30 lakh — `15 lakh for each of the two cases.
Out of this, `14 lakh each will go to the two victims who were part of Ram Rahim’s sect and were coerced into having sex with him 15 years ago.
The CBI has successfully kept the identity of the two victims under wraps since 2002 when the rapes came to light through an anonymous letter by two women, residing in the Dera as sadhvis, alleging rape by the Dera chief. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered a CBI probe after taking cognisance of the letter.
The verdict on Monday was followed by hours of confusion over the quantum of sentence as the initial reports indicated that Ram Rahim had been handed down a combined punishment of 10 years in the two rape cases.
Tight security arrangements in Rohtak and other parts of Haryana and Punjab ensured that there were no violent protests by Ram Rahim’s followers after the verdict.
Sirsa, Aug. 28: No untoward incident was reported from Sirsa after the pronouncement of the quantum of sentence of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who has been convicted in a rape case, a senior Haryana government official said on Monday.
Speaking to reporters here, IAS officer V. Umashankar also said that the district authorities had ordered attachment of the Sirsa-based Dera’s accounts and compensation to those affected in the violence could be given from these.
“There was no report of any untoward incident and I hope that peace will be maintained,” Mr Umashankar said.
He said that excluding the permanent residents of the area, many of whom were also Dera followers, the number of others in the sect’s headquarters in Sirsa now was not more than a thousand.
He also said that the deputy commissioner of Sirsa had ordered the attachment of the accounts of Dera Sacha Sauda and compensation to the people affected by violence during the episode may be given from these as per court orders.
Talking about the possibility of firearms being there in the sect headquarters, Mr Umashankar said that some weapons were in the name of Dera and some were registered in the names of individuals.
He said from the day of Ram Rahim Singh’s conviction by a court in Panchkula on August 25, the state authorities had worked to ensure that the violent mob doesn’t move towards Sirsa where the Dera is headquartered.
“We were conscious that if such a mob comes towards the city and indulges in violence and arson, then it would have been very difficult to control and accordingly we deployed our forces,” he said.
Our second objective was that if violence occurred, we have to contain it in a specific area and prevent it from spreading, he said.
The third objective was to exercise maximum restraint, which was not entirely possible in this kind of situation, but still we had to exercise it and not allow it to escalate, Mr Umashankar added.
He said that six people were killed in violence in Sirsa following conviction of the Dera chief and added that "instigators" of violence will be identified and criminal proceedings will be launched against them. Further, a joint command of police, Army and administration will take a decision about relaxing curfew imposed in Sirsa, he said. — PTI