‘Ruling has restored our faith in justice’
UPHILL TASK Family members of a woman who was raped by the Dera chief describe the harassment that followed their complaint
“It took a long time, I had stopped believing in justice,” says a 73-year-old woman, smiling through her tears as she learns about the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case on Friday. Her daughter was one of the two women raped by the self-styled leader, and her only son was allegedly killed by his followers who suspected him of circulating a letter detailing the sexual exploitation in 2002.
The old woman with hazel eyes is the matriarch of a family that dared to take on the dera chief, whose thousands-strong followers brought Haryana and Punjab to a standstill in clashes that left 30 people dead. The family used to be ardent supporters of the 50-year-old convicted leader — the brother was a part of his inner circle — but dissociated themselves soon after learning about the rape.
“This ruling has restored our faith in justice, I only wish papaji was here to see this day,” the brother’s wife says, wiping a tear. She remembers her fatherin-law who was the village chief for 35 years and passed away last year after tirelessly fighting against Singh in court.
She remembers her husband’s dedication to the Dera. “A staunch devotee, he’d even got a room built for the dera chief on the first floor,” she says, recounting how Singh used to camp in their house with his entourage. But later, her husband regretted wasting the prime years of life at the dera, she recalls.
The anonymous letter led the Dera to suspect the brother, following which emissaries of Singh allegedly threatened him. Two months later on July 10, he was found murdered in the fields. He was 42.
It wasn’t an easy battle. “My son was only seven, my younger daughter was 12 and my elder one had just got engaged when he was killed,” the brother’s wife tears up. The family has
OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS SAY POLICE ATTEMPTED TO DIVIDE THE FAMILY BY BLAMING SOME RELATIVES FOR
THE MURDER
lost count of the threats it received. “So many times, we were followed by vehicles,” says the rape victim’s brother-inlaw. Other family members say the police attempted to divide the family by blaming some relatives for the murder. Some people even tried to lure them into dropping the charges with promises of jobs and money, they say.
The family says they tried to enlist the help of media but to no avail. “No one was ready to publish a word against the dera chief. I held press conferences in Chandigarh but not a word was reported,” fumes a family member. One of the sisters continued working at the Dera to keep an eye on the two daughters of the murdered brother.
The family knows it’s not the end of the battle. But they are banking on faith. As the brother’s wife sums it up, “It’s not easy, we are no match for the dera, but we won’t give up. After all, no one is above God.” Not even MSG, Messenger of God.
With a senior directing them to close the case and the woman who alleged sexual abuse getting married, it was a “game of wits” for the CBI team that probed the rape case against Gurmeet Ram Rahim, recalled a retired officer on Friday.
As a special CBI court in Panchkula convicted the Dera Sacha Sauda chief of rape, it was flashback time for former CBI joint director Mulinja Narayanan, who headed the probe. “It was a game of wits. Sometimes we won and sometimes we lost but, at the end, today’s verdict showed that no one can escape the law of the land,” he said.
Narayanan was posted as deputy inspector general of police (special crimes) in Delhi when the Punjab and Haryana high court handed the case to the CBI in September 2002.
Narayanan, 67, also spoke about the difficulties.
“The girl, who had been sexually abused in 1999, had left Dera and got married. It was a daunting task to convince her as well as her family members,” he recalled. PTI