Gurmeet Ram Rahim gets life term in journalist murder case
Chandigarh: A special CBI court in Panchkula on Thursday sentenced Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to life imprisonment in the murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. The court also sentenced his three close aides, Krishan Lal, Kuldeep Singh and Nirmal Singh, who were also found guilty of the murder of Chhatrapati in 2002, to life imprisonment.
Ram Rahim’s life imprisonment will begin after the completion of the 20-year jail term in the rape cases for which he was convicted earlier.cbi counsel H.P.S. Verma told media that Ram Rahim will have to remain in prison for life following Thursday’s judgment.
Ram Rahim and the three others were convicted by the CBI court on January 11. All the four were convicted under Section 302 (murder) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The judgement came over 16 years after the murder of the journalist.
“The punishment is satisfactory. We had to fight a lot to get him punished,” Anshul Chhatrapati, son of the slain journalist told media after the sentencing. Ram Rahim is already lodged in Sunaria jail near Rohtak after his conviction on August 25, 2017 for the rape of two women disciples. He was sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment in the case.
The judge also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on Ram Rahim and others. Ram Rahim and the three others were convicted by the CBI court on January 11.