STATE OF SIRSA DERA, A YEAR ON
A year after he was jailed for two decades, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s ~2,100crore empire is surviving on donations doled out by dera followers, while ED and IT authorities probe properties, assets
A year after Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s arrest in Panchkula and the violence that ensued, Hindustan Times revisits the dera to gauge the state of the sect and the mood of its followers.
SIRSA: The icon is gone but not forgotten.
Jailed for 20 years for raping two sadhvis (woman followers), Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh may no longer be at the helm of his Rs 2,100-crore business at Dera Sacha Sauda but billboards dotting Sirsa’s Begu Road, congratulating him on his 51st birthday on August 15 are a reminder of the following he still enjoys. Criminal charges in three other cases may have dashed his comeback prospects but hope prevails with the faithful keeping the institutions going at the 800-acre sect headquarters.
Every year, the dera head would sit on an ornate elevated podium to bless followers during the naam charcha (prayer) but this Independence Day, his followers put up the billboards and about 40,000 gathered at the sect headquarters to celebrate his birthday, keeping intelligence agencies on the toes. Giant LED screens beamed the baba’s antics. “Call it blind faith or whatever but it was astonishing,” admits an official monitoring the gathering.
DIP IN MORALE
The dera head’s arrest followed by violence unleashed by his angry supporters in Panchkula, where the special Central Bureau of Investigation court held him guilty for rape, and Sirsa on August 25 last year hit the morale of his followers, who are known as premis.
The freezing of the dera’s bank accounts and attachment of assets meant that the sect lost its financial muscle, too.
These setbacks crippled the dera’s economy and brought bad publicity, while eroding Ram Rahim’s support base and battering his political worth. A year on, the dera continues to gasp for breath, trying to defy a slow death.
“For thousands of Ram Rahim’s supporters who come from underprivileged sections of society, there is no other option. The dera is their only hope,” says a Sirsa district official, requesting anonymity.
Prakash Singh Salwara, the editor of dera magazine Sach Kahun, says premis continue to engage themselves in public welfare despite the turmoil within. “Followers planted 25 lakh saplings across the country and abroad on August 15 to celebrate our sect head’s birthday. Nowadays, followers in southern states are busy facilitating relief for the flood-hit victims of Kerala. Every month, dera followers donate blood and this Independence Day, 6,500 units of blood were collected. Regular prayer sessions are held at ashrams in Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka,” he says.
ECONOMY TAKES HIT
With accounts frozen and assets attached, the dera is depending on donations.
“We depend on donations from followers, in cash and in kind, to stay afloat. The sangat provides ration for meals of followers. Whatever they contribute monetarily helps us pay the bills,” says a former dera office-bearer, requesting anonymity. Dera spokesperson Ajay Dhamija declined comment.
Sirsa deputy commissioner Prabhjot Singh says educational institutions and hospitals inside the dera have been functioning under the supervision of the district administration. An ad-hoc governing body, chaired by him, runs the institutions.
The Punjab and Haryana high court, which is monitoring the matter, has asked the managing committees of the educational institutions to approach the ad-hoc governing body for funds to pay the staff.
WOMEN TAKE CHARGE
With most of its top leadership behind bars or on the run, dera senior vicechairperson Shobha Insan has been thrust into the leadership role. “Initially, dera chairperson Vipassana took charge but is reluctant to continue for health reasons,” says a Sirsa-based follower. Shobha has a team of sadhvis to assist her in carrying out the day-to-day functioning. “Shobha has been associated with the dera since childhood. A sadhvi herself, she is ideal to lead the sect in this hour of crisis,” says another follower.
The probability of Ram Rahim’s son, Jasmeet Insaan, taking over the reins of the dera is remote. “He does not seem interested. There is no precedent of such a succession in the dera,” an intelligence official says.
PROPERTIES PROBED
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is investigating the personal accounts of Ram Rahim and his associates for money laundering, in a recent status report before the high court, said after scrutinising documents related to land acquisition by the dera, it was found that 293 acres of farm land was acquired by way of donation from farmers and the power of attorney was executed in favour of three dera staff members. These three dera personnel subsequently gifted these lands to the dera by way of gift deeds. Thus, the matter needs to be investigated by a specialised wing of the income tax department under the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016.
Regarding acquisition of overseas properties by the dera, the investigating agencies informed the court that the names of Gurmeet Ram Rahim and his daughter Charanpreet Kaur have surfaced in the incorporation documents. The agencies have issued summons to Charanpreet. A reference has also been sent to Egmont group of financial intelligence units (FIUs) for ascertaining the ownership of the dera’s overseas properties. The Egmont group is a united body of 150 financial intelligence units the world over and provides a platform for the secure exchange of expertise to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
STRUCTURES UNDER SCRUTINY
A number of structures in the new dera have been built without approval from the Haryana government. In an affidavit before the high court, the town and country planning department said there were 23 structures in the new dera that fell within the controlled area. Of the 23, the dera had permission for change of land use (CLU) for 11 constructions only.
“The dera management got building plans approved for eight of the 11 constructions. And in none of the 11 approved CLU cases, has the dera management applied for occupation certificate,” the affidavit says. The department says that the district town planner (DTP), Sirsa, acted against the unauthorised construction by serving notices from time to time. In instances where the building plan approvals and occupation certificates were not granted, the department issued directions to the DTP, Sirsa, to act as per law.