Murder cases: Khatta Singh to depose afresh against Ram Rahim
CBI court recalls exdriver of dera chief, who had turned hostile earlier, for deposition on May 5; his counsel says he can establish Ram Rahim’s role in murder cases of Ranjit Singh and Ram Chandra Chattrapati
PANCHKULA: After months of legal battle, Khatta Singh, a former driver of rape convict Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, is set to depose afresh against the self-styled godman on May 5 in Panchkula CBI court in connection with the murder of former dera follower Ranjit Singh and journalist Ram Chandra Chattrapati.
Ram Rahim is the prime accused in both the cases along with others.
The fresh testimony of Khatta Singh, who claims to know dark secrets of the dera, may spell more trouble for Ram Rahim who is already sentenced to 20-year jail in a rape case last year.
The development comes after CBI judge Jagdeep Singh recalled him as witness on Wednesday after CBI special prosecutor HPS Verma apprised the court about the Punjab and Haryana high court’s April 23 order that allowed Khatta Singh’s plea for his re-testimony in both the cases.
Dera chief’s counsel SK Garg Narwana sought adjournment of the matter at least for three weeks as to allow them to challenge the high court orders in Supreme Court. But the CBI court did not allow it saying that Khatta Singh has been facing threat and in such circumstances, it would not be advisable to adjourn the present matter to a longer date.
The Panchkula CBI court also added that it was dutybound to make compliance of the high court order when there was no stay from higher court.
KHATTA’S FLIP-FLOP IN PAST
Khatta Singh was among the CBI’S most important witnesses after the dera chief and his men were booked for allegedly killing Ranjit Singh and Chattrapati in 2002.
He claimed that he was privy to meetings in which Ram Rahim had ordered his men to eliminate Ranjit Singh and Chattrapati. But he later turned hostile during testimony before the court in February 2012, denying any knowledge of the dera chief’s involvement in these cases. He also blamed the CBI of “pressurising him” to depose against the dera chief.
But days after Ram Rahim’s
FRESH TESTIMONY OF KHATTA SINGH, WHO CLAIMS TO KNOW DARK SECRETS OF DERA, MAY SPELL MORE TROUBLE FOR RAM RAHIM
conviction in a rape case, Khatta suddenly resurfaced, pleading before the CBI court that he had earlier turned hostile due to “threat from Ram Rahim and his goons”. He pleaded that he should be allowed to testify again in order to “bring out the truth”.
While the CBI court dismissed his petition, the high court allowed it recently.
Reacting on the development, Khatta Singh’a counsel Navkiran Singh said, “We welcome the promptness of the court with which it has decided to recall him for his testimony. He is an important witness who is definitely going to link Gurmeet Ram Rahim with executors of the crime of both these murders,” he said.
Khatta Sigh has also been roped by the CBI in the case involving castration of followers, in which the dera chief is also the prime accused.