For murder trial closing arguments, former probe officer summoned

A special CBI court on Monday asked former investigating officer Armandeep Singh to appear before it on Tuesday, as it resumed hearing murder cases in which rape convict Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is the main accused, along with others.

Closing arguments have been in progress in the case.

Armandeep was initial officer, who investigated the matter and recorded the statements of accused. Ranjit Singh, a member of the dera’s core committee, was murdered in July 2002.

Meanwhile, CBI’s special prosecutor HPS Verma read out statements of 59 witnesses of 60 it produced during the trial. The statement of IO Armandeep has been held back due to its summoning by the court. It is expected to be read on Tuesday.

Gurmeet appeared for the trial through video chat. He complained of back pain.

DEFENCE APPREHENDS ‘MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE’

An advocate for Krishan Lal, an accused facing trial for the 2002 murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, has apprehended miscarriage of justice in a letter addressed to the chief justice of India. The letter from the advocate, Bankim Kulshreshtha, states that most core facts and evidences in all three cases — rape case involving two sadhvis, the murder of the journalist and the murder of Ranjit Singh — are common. HTC