Dera castration case: CBI court dismisses Ram Rahim’s bail plea
PANCHKULA: The Panchkula CBI court on Thursday dismissed the bail plea moved by Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the case related to forcible castration of dera followers.
The bail plea moved by jailed Ram Rahim on Tuesday was the first bail application filed by him in the case.
The dera chief’s plea mentioned that charges have already been framed and the applicant had even joined the investigation, therefore bail should be granted to him, which was opposed by the CBI.
Meanwhile, the court has granted permission to co-accused Dr Pankaj Garg to attend a medical conference in London from November 3 to November 11.
The court directed Garg to complete some legal formalities before leaving for UK.
The special CBI court here had framed charges against jailed Ram Rahim and two accused doctors, MP Singh and Pankaj Garg, in the case on August 3.
While Ram Rahim was charged under Sections 417 (cheating), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, the two doctors believed to be involved in the castration process, were charged under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 326 of the IPC.
As per the CBI chargesheet, a dera follower-turned-complainant had submitted a list containing names of 166 dera followers who were allegedly castrated at the behest of Ram Rahim at dera properties, including the main headquarters in Sirsa, in the early 2000.
HC DISPOSES OF DERA CHIEF’S APPEAL
Meanwhile, a Punjab and Haryana high court division bench presided over by justice Surya Kant on Thursday disposed of an appeal filed by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh challenging a December 2014 order of a singlejudge bench in the castration case. In its order, the single judge bench had ordered CBI probe into allegations of castration of 400 followers at the behest of dera head.
The bench had also made some adverse observations against the dera head — that he was addressing a gathering at different places but not making himself available for the investigation, then being conducted by Haryana Police.
While disposing of the appeal, the high court observed that trial court would conduct trial uninfluenced of the observations made by the single judge in the order.