Dera chief’s sentencing deferred till October 18

CBI seeks death penalty for Gurmeet Ram Rahim in Panchkula special court, while dera chief pleads for mercy

PANCHKULA: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Panchkula on Tuesday deferred the sentencing of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who has been convicted of conspiring to murder his former manager Ranjit Singh in 2002.

The CBI has sought death sentence for Ram Rahim, who in turn pleaded for mercy via video conference from Rohtak jail, where he is serving a 20-year term for raping two followers.

The special CBI court had convicted the dera head and four others on October 8 in the Ranjit Singh murder case.

The hearing on Tuesday began amid tight security. The authorities imposed prohibitory orders in the area in view of the violence reported after his conviction in rape cases in August 2017, in which 36 people were killed in Panchkula.

While Dera chief pleaded leniency, citing social work done by him, the CBI opposed it stating that the victim treated him as God and the accused committed offences against him. He had criminal antecedents and committed offence in a cold-blooded manner without provocation.

Senior public prosecutor KP Singh said the CBI demanded “maximum punishment” under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which is death penalty. Others convicted for the crime are Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, Avtar Singh and Sabdil.

In the court, CBI cited two judgements by the Supreme Court.

“The counsel of some other convicts sought time stating that they are not ready with arguments as they have to go through the judgments cited by the prosecution,” CBI special prosecutor HPS Verma told the media outside the court.

On their request, the court deferred the sentencing till October 18.

Ranjit Singh, a former follower of Ram Rahim, was shot dead by four assailants on July 10, 2002, at his native Khanpur Kolian village in Kurukshetra.

Murdered for revealing sexual abuse at dera: CBI

According to the CBI, Ranjit Singh was murdered as Ram Rahim suspected that he was behind the circulation of an anonymous letter that revealed the sexual exploitation of woman followers at the dera. In June 2002, Ranjit Singh was summoned to the dera and threatened with dire consequences, but he refused to seek pardon, saying he had done nothing wrong.

The dera head is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two followers and has been sentenced to life for the murder of a journalist in 2002.