DERA CHIEF IS NOW QAIDI NUMBER 8647

ROHTAK: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh will now be called qaidi no 8647 after being given 20 year jail term by a special CBI judge on Monday.

Sources in the jail said the authorities were yet to take a call on whether he will be kept here in Rohtak jail or be shifted to some other place. Presently, he is in a special cell in company of two other prisoners.

Ram Rahim was convicted of raping two of his followers by the CBI court, which pronounced 10 year jail for him in both cases. The jail term will run consecutively and not simultaneously. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on him, out of which Rs 14 lakh each will be given to the two victims for their rehabilitation.

Sources in the jail said Ram Rahim showed antics post his conviction on Monday night and had very little dinner. He ate normally on Tuesday.

As per jail manual, he will be allowed to speak to a family member on phone once a day, after he provides two numbers and police conducts a verification check on those. He will also be allowed a visit by a family member once a week as per alphabetical order. Sources said the meeting could happen this Thursday.

The sources further said the jail authorities allot work in skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled categories, and pay wages to inmates accordingly. Ram Ra him was yet to be allotted a work.

Meanwhile, heavy security arrangements remained intact around the jail premises with paramilitary forces sealing the area upto two kilometres. The schools in the district reopened on Tuesday, however, the schools located near the jail premises remained closed.