Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh Sentenced To 20 Years Imprisonment For Rape

August 28, 2017 16:00

(Image source from: TheQuint.Com)

Dera Chief Ram Rahim Singh Sentenced To 20 Years Imprisonment For Rape:- A special CBI court has sentenced to two terms (20 years) of imprisonment for Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, head of the Dera Sacha Sauda for sexually assaulting two of his followers. Under Section 375 of the Penal Code of 1860, he was convicted of offences and sentenced pursuant to Section 376 of the said Code. The code sets the maximum punishment for rape at life in prison.

Both the sides of the lawyers have been allotted 10 minutes each to putforth their arguments by Special CBI Judge Jagdeep Singh. Maximum punishment for Ram Rahim Singh was demanded by the prosecution, while the defence lawyer, S K Garg Narwana argued that the judge should take a lenient view since has worked for the welfare of people.

(Video Source: ABP NEWS)

Currently, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is undergoing a medical examination inside the Sunaria Jail. Later, he will be allotted a cell and asked to change into prison uniform.

Ahead of the judgment, two cars were torched by Dera Sacha Sauda supporters in Phoolka area of Haryana’s Sirsa. Meanwhile, chairperson of Dera, Vipassana Insaan appealed to the followers to peacefully abide by the judgment.

Panchkula-based judge Jagdeep Singh to read out the sentence to Ram Rahim in a makeshift prison created within the jail, was flown to Sunaria jail in Rohtak on Monday morning. To prevent any repeat of the mayhem that followed the guilty verdict on Friday, Haryana, Punjab and parts of Uttar Pradesh were under a thick security cover on Monday. After Ram Rahim was announced guilty of raping two women in a 2002 case, the followers of Dera in Punjab, Haryana and other cities, burned down gas stations and train stations and torched vehicles.

At least 38 people were killed and more than 200 injured in the violence in Haryana, officials said, drawing sharp criticism for the state government. The Haryana police said they have made sufficient security arrangements to ensure peace and harmony.

The 50-year-old “Guru of Bling” has been lodged in Rohtak's Sunaria jail after his conviction by the special CBI court in Panchkula on Friday. Rohtak has been placed under multi-layered security; 28 companies of paramilitary troops have been stationed in the town and Dera followers are not being allowed to enter the district.

Curfew continued in Sirsa on Monday, as did the state-wide suspension of mobile Internet services. Internet services will be suspended in Haryana till 11.30 am on Tuesday. Schools and colleges in Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district were shut on Monday. Thousands of supporters who had gathered at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa were also shooed out by the administration.

The rape charges against Ram Rahim has been dragging since April, 2002 when an anonymous letter complained of sexual exploitation of women followers at the Dera. The letter was written to the Punjab and Haryana chief justice. Journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati of Sirsa, who had exposed this exploitation, was shot dead at his residence on October 24, 2002. That case is up for its next hearing on September 16.
The High Court, acting on the letter, handed the matter to the CBI later that year after a district court indicated the possibility of sexual harassment. A case of rape and criminal intimidation in December, 2002 had been registered by the CBI and a charge sheet had been filed against Ram Rahim for the sexual exploitation of two sadhvis between 1991 and 2001.