Indian guru gets 20-yr jail for rape
Over 100 detained
ROHTAK, India, Aug 28, (AFP): An Indian court on Monday sentenced a controversial spiritual leader to a total of 20 years in prison for raping two of his devotees, days after his followers went on a rampage that left 38 dead.
The riots broke out on Friday when Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, 50, was convicted of raping the two women at the sprawling headquarters of his hugely popular Dera Sacha Sauda sect in the northern state of Haryana in a case that dates back to 1999.
“He has been sentenced for 10 plus 10, which is a total of 20 years of imprisonment,” said Abhishek Dayal, spokesman for India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), after the sentencing hearing.
“I have the judgement which details the sentence.”
A lawyer for the victims earlier told AFP that Singh had been sentenced to 10 years in jail. In fact, he was given two consecutive 10-year sentences.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the violence but his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which is also in power in Haryana, was criticised for failing to anticipate the riots.
Police were taking no chances Monday in Rohtak, where mobile internet has been cut, roads barricaded with barbed wire and soldiers deployed to man checkpoints.
More than 100 of Singh’s senior loyalists had been placed in detention as a precautionary measure, said Rohtak police chief Navdeep Singh Virk.
He said his officers would use “whatever force is required” against the guru’s devotees should they again resort to violence.
“If the situation so arises that (we) need to use firearms, my officers have complete authority,” the police chief told broadcaster NDTV.
Self-styled “godman” Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh inspired extraordinary devotion in India, where huge crowds flocked to hear his teachings — even after he was accused of rape in a high-profile case that ended in conviction.
Singh counted film stars, cricketers and politicians among his legions of supporters.
But the most devoted were the vast numbers of ordinary Indians, many of them poor, who flocked to the sprawling headquarters of his controversial sect in the northern Indian state of Haryana to hear his teachings.
Singh
Devotees
There, delirious devotees were said to weep with joy and fall at his feet for blessings.
They called Singh “pita-ji”, or “revered father”, and said his message of living simply and eschewing meat and alcohol had changed their lives.
That Singh’s own life was far from simple did not seem to matter.
The extravagantly-bearded 50-year-old was dubbed the “guru in bling” for his flamboyant wardrobe, which included trousers emblazoned with sequins.
He travelled in a convoy of SUVs, starred in pop videos and even launched his own “Messenger” movie franchise in which he performed miracles, preached to thousands and beat up gangsters — all while singing and dancing.
In the latest, “MSG — The Warrior Lion Heart”, he played a secret agent fighting aliens and UFOs.
That spawned a line of merchandise including T-shirts, caps and other insignia emblazoned with Singh’s smiling face.
But the razzamatazz of his showbusiness career concealed a darker side to Singh’s story.
In 2002 an anonymous letter was sent to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee accusing the guru of repeatedly raping the sender and several other women at the headquarters of his sect in Haryana.
A judge asked the Central Bureau of Investigations to look into the accusations, but it took years to trace the alleged victims and it was not until 2007 that two women came forward and filed their complaint.