Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Oct.12: The special CBI court in Panchkula reserved its decision on the punishment of Dera Sacha Sauda founder Gurmeet Ram Rahim convicted in a 2002 murder case. Last Friday, the self-styled godman was found guilty of plotting the murder of his former manager Ranjit Singh in 2002.
The court has scheduled a hearing on the sentence’s quantum on October 18. Four additional people were convicted in the murder case with Gurmeet Ram Rahim.
Earlier in the day, the special CBI court began hearings in the case to determine the sentence quantum amid tight security. The authorities issued prohibitory orders in the area surrounding the court, fearing that the convicted godman’s followers might retaliate with violence. In August 2017, 36 people were slain in Panchkula after a local court found Gurmeet Ram Rahim guilty of rape. This time, the self-proclaimed godman arrived via videoconference from the Sunaria jail in Rohtak.
Ranjit Singh, a former follower of Dera Sacha Sauda founder Gurmeet Ram Rahim, was shot and killed by four assailants in his native town of Khanpur Kolian in Kurukshetra on July 10, 2002.
According to the CBI’s chargesheet, Ranjit Singh was assassinated because Ram Rahim accused him of being behind the distribution of an anonymous letter exposing the sexual exploitation of female disciples on the Dera grounds.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim is already serving a 20-year sentence for raping two followers and was sentenced to life in prison in 2002 for the murder of a journalist.
