Gurmeet Ram Rahim, 4 others get life imprisonment in 2002 murder case
The CBI court convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim and four others in a murder case on October 8
A special CBI court in Panchkula on Monday awarded life imprisonment to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, and four others, in a 2002 murder case.
The court also slapped a fine of ₹31 lakh on Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singhand ₹50,000 on each of the remaining accused. The other four accused include Jasbir Singh, a follower of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh; Krishan Lal, a manager of Dera Sacha Sauda; Sabdil, the gunman of Dera chief; and Avtar Singh, an important functionary of the sect.
"All five convicts including Ram Rahim have been awarded life sentence," CBI special public prosecutor, HPS Verma told Hindustan Times.
Already serving sentence for rape and another murder, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was on October 8 convicted for conspiring the murder of his former manager Ranjit Singh in 2002.
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While the Dera chief appeared through video conferencing from Rohtak's Sunaria jail, where he is lodged, the four others were present in the court at the time of sentencing.
Tight security arrangement were made at Panchkula district court complex for the hearing. The authorities imposed prohibitory orders against assembly of five or more people in the entire district anticipating violence by the followers of the convicted godman. As many as 36 people were killed in Panchkula in August 2017 after a local court convicted Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a rape case.
The self-styled godman was produced before a special CBI court in Panchkula on October 12, but the court reserved its order on the quantum of sentence and decided to the hear the case on Monday.
A former follower of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, Ranjit Singh was shot dead by four assailants on July 10, 2002, at his native village in Kurukshetra's Khanpur Kolian.
The Central Bureau of Investigation officials in their chargesheet said Ranjit Singh was murdered as Ram Rahim suspected that he was behind the circulation of an anonymous letter highlighting the sexual exploitation of female disciples on the Dera premises.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim is already serving a 20-year jail term for raping two followers and has been sentenced to life for the murder of a journalist in 2002.
