Revealed: Tunnel into hostel of sadhvis, cracker factory
Sombir, 48, who had donated 12acre land and Rs 3crore cash to Ram Rahim, jumped into village well; allegedly felt guilty of wasting his money on Sirsa dera chief now jailed for rape
SIRSA: A secret passage connecting the disgraced Dera Sacha Sauda chief’s home with a hostel for woman disciples, another tunnel lined with fibreglass, a cache of explosives and an illegal cracker factory were found at the sect’s headquarters on Saturday.
An empty box of AK-47 rifle cartridges, 84 cartons of firecrackers and chemicals from the illegal factory, besides hundreds of pairs of shoes, designer clothing and caps, were also discovered.
The discoveries were made during a search in the 800-acre dera hub after its 50-year-old chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, was convicted of raping two sadhvis, or woman devotees, in cases that date back to 2002.
The flamboyant “godman”, who has scripted and starred in own films and commands a near devotional following that runs into millions, was sentenced to 20 years in jail this August.
Police, paramilitary and civil administration officials were involved in the search that began on Friday on the direction of the Punjab and Haryana high court.
A window in his home — also known as gufa, or cave — led to the passage to the hostel, Haryana government spokesman Satish Mehra said.
According to former dera followers, only his closest aides had access to the gufa, a pink mansion shaped like a half-doughnut and kitted out with modern luxuries.
The victims had alleged that the dera chief sexually exploited woman devotees in this fortified house. The second tunnel led to a mud path that looked like a secret escape route opening out about 5km away.
The search team also sealed a skin lab on dera premises. Irregularities were also found in records of medical termination of pregnancies at the dera hospital.
Sources said a geological team from IIT-Roorkee has reached Sirsa to look for anything hidden under Ram Rahim’s home and the sprawling complex Police have called divers to search the big ponds . The search will continue on Sunday.
A WINDOW IN BABA’S HOME — ALSO KNOWN AS GUFA, OR CAVE — LED TO THE PASSAGE TO THE HOSTEL
ROHTAK: Sombir, 48, a Dera Sacha Sauda follower allegedly committed suicide by jumping into a well at Balkara village in Charkhi Dadri district, as he allegedly felt guilty of wasting his money on sect head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who has been jailed for raping his two female disciples.
The police said he had donated 12-acre land to Ram Rahim on the promise that a dera centre will be established at Balkara village and he will be made the head of it. However, Ram Rahim did not fulfil his promise.
Sombir’s body was found by a local farmer inside the well at his field a day after he went missing on the night of September 6.
The police, quoting family members, said that on Ram Rahim’s behest Sombir also sold his 18-acre land — the deal was mediated by Ram Rahim himself — and donated Rs 3.10 crore to the dera chief for making an ‘MSG Resort’. “Sombir had five children. The family says he was promised that if he invests in the resort, all his five children will get monthly dividend of Rs 1.5 lakh each,” Dadri Sadar police station in-charge said.
The family said after news of the dera head’s conviction in two rape cases, Sombir started feeling guilty of wasting his money. “We kept telling him it’s alright. We will manage to get the land back through legal process. But he seems to have not listened to us,” said Mohan, Sombir’s brother-in-law.
He said Sombir consumed liquor with the village sarpanch on the night of September 6, and went missing since then.
Though the family suspected the role of the sarpanch in Sombir’s death, police said that prima facie, it seemed to be a suicide case. “The probe into the matter are on. We are trying to find how much money he donated to the dera. He allegedly jumped in the well at his own land, which he had sold to donate ₹ 3 crore to the dera head,” Sadar police station in-charge said.
SOMBIR CONSUMED LIQUOR WITH VILLAGE SARPANCH ON THE NIGHT OF SEPT 6, AND HAD BEEN MISSING EVER SINCE