2 close aides of dera chief found without testicles

A medical board constituted to conduct examination of the two; CBI team probing forced castration case against dera head also informed

TWO ARE DERA CHIEF’S LEGAL ADVISER DAAN SINGH AND ASSISTANT RAKESH KUMAR

PANCHKULA: In police custody in connection with the August 25 Panchkula violence, two close aides of jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim have been found without testicles.

Ram Rahim is already facing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe since 2015 for allegedly castrating his male disciples at the Sirsa-based dera. The two are the dera chief’s legal adviser Daan Singh and personal assistant Rakesh Kumar.

Apprehending that they may have been castrated, a medical board was constituted at the Panchkula government hospital on Friday on police’s request for their through medical examination. A senior police officer said the CBI has also been informed about the development.

Panchkula civil surgeon Dr Sanjeev Trehan said the medical board comprised a surgeon, a physician and a radiologist. The medical examination of the two will be conducted on Monday.

Trehan said such examinations involve hormonal studies and diagnostic tests such as ultra scan to find out whether or not they faced any surgical removal of organs. A senior Panchkula police official said during the investigation into the August 25 violence, in which 35 people were killed, they had arrested Daan Singh and Rakesh Kumar, who had accompanied Ram Rahim to Panchkula for hearing in two rape cases. While Daan Singh was arrested from Chandigarh on September 7, Rakesh was held in Sirsa on September 29.

“During investigation, it was found that testicles of the two were missing. We have now asked for their medical examination from the local government hospital,” he said.

Navkiran Singh, counsel of former dera follower Hans Raj Chauhan, who had accused the dera chief of castrating him and others, said all these people were castrated after they were told that this will help them meet god.

“These findings are not really surprising. We want CBI investigation to conclude at the earliest in this matter,” Navkiran said.

The CBI had registered an FIR against Ram Rahim in the castration case filed by Chauhan in 2015. It was done at the directions of the Punjab and Haryana high court, which had asked the CBI to probe the allegations .

The case was registered in Delhi and is being probed by the CBI’s Delhi branch instead of the Chandigarh unit. Chauhan had alleged in his petition that he and 400 others were lured by the dera head to get their testicles removed. HONEYPREET STAYED IN MUKTSAR TOO: POLICE Police said interrogation of dera chief’s ‘adopted daughter’ Honeypreet they found that she had stayed in Muktsar district for two or three days after her stay in Bathinda where she was for 8-10 days. “We have confirmed leads of her stay in Punjab,” said Panchkula police commissioner AS Chawla.