CBI court dismisses defence plea seeking further probe in case

PANCHKULA: The special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Wednesday dismissed all four applications moved by the defence counsel seeking further investigation in the Ranjit Singh murder case wherein rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim is main accused along with five others.

The decision came after the CBI counsel opposed these applications, arguing that it was meant to delay the trial at this belated stage. The CBI maintained that the plea for further probe is not maintainable at the final leg of the case.

Ranjit Singh, a former dera core committee member, was murdered near his village in Kurukshetra district on July 10, 2002. The CBI claimed that he was in the hit list of the dera after he decided to expose the dera’s nefarious activities

However, co-accused Krishan Lal, a former dera manager moved a plea earlier this month, alleging that the CBI had overlooked initial investigations and the accused was arrested by the Kurukshetra police in the Ranjit murder case. Ranjit’s father, the defence argued, lodged a complaint against the sarpanch of his village, not against the dera, after the murder.

The defence had moved as many as four applications. One of them even sought spot inspection of the crime scene.

All these applications now stand dismissed as ordered by the CBI court on Wednesday.

Krishan Lal’s counsel Bankim Kulshreshtha said although the content of the court orders is not known yet, the defence expected that the law laid down by the Supreme Court to ensure fair trial and administration of justice should be honoured.

Five dera members — Avtar Singh, Inder Sain, Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh and Sabdil Singh — are accused in this case along with the dera chief as main conspirator.

The case was handed over to the CBI following a plea by Ranjit Singh’s kin in the Punjab and Haryana High court in 2003.Ram Rahim, who is undergoing a 20-year sentence in Rohtak’s Sunaria jail for raping his female followers, appeared before the court through a video link during the trail on Wednesday.

DEFENCE TO RESUME ARGUMENTS ON SEP 29

The defence will continue its closing arguments on September 29 now. The CBI has already concluded arguments by reading out statements of 59 witnesses.