DERA CHIEF
guru and one day truth will prevail,” the dera management said exhorting the followers to not to believe “rumours”.
Ram Rahim’s counsel, senior advocate, Ajay Barman too said, judgment will be challenged in high court. The CBI had sought death sentence for Ram Rahim, who in turn pleaded for mercy. The special CBI court convicted the dera head and four others on October 8.
Ram Rahim appeared through video-conferencing from Sunaria jail of Rohtak, while the four others were present in the court at the time of the sentencing.
Hearing held amid tight security
The hearing was conducted amid tight security at the Panchkula district court complex. Prohibitary orders were in place against the assembly of five and more people in Panchkula district. Dera chief, who as per lawyers remained calm through the hearing requested the judge to allow him address his followers through video conferencing from jail.
Murdered for revealing sexual abuse at dera According to the CBI, Ranjit Singh was murdered as Ram Rahim suspected that he was behind the circulation of an anonymous letter that revealed the sexual exploitation of woman followers at the dera.
The CBI special judge, Sushil Kumar Garg in his judgment said that in the instant case, life of an innocent citizen was snuffed out simply because he was a brother of a rape victim and was a suspect of circulating anonymous letter against dera head. “However, mobocracy and violent attacks on innocent citizens have no place in a democracy like ours which is governed by rule of law and sound constitutional norms,” the court said.
To Ram Rahim’s argument that due to dera’s social activities, leniency be adopted, the court said: “..social welfare activities could not absolve accused/ convict Ram Rahim from his criminal liability” The dera chief already stands convicted in two cases, one related to sexual exploitation of women disciples and the second of the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. The dera head is serving a 20-year jail term in rape cases and thereafter life sentence awarded in 2019 for the murder of a journalist is to start, which will run concurrent to punishment in Ranjit Singh’s case.