Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh & 4 others get life imprisonment in 2002 Manager's death case

Rape-convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and 4 others have been awarded a life imprisonment sentence by a Special CBI court on Monday, following their October 8 conviction in the 2002 Dera Sirsa Manager's murder case. 

In the Ranjit Singh murder case, the Special CBI court in Panchkula awarded life imprisonment to all the accused, including Dera Sacha Sauda's Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who was in 2017 convicted for rape and then jailed, and four others. A fine of Rs 31 Lakhs has been levied on Ram Rahim and Rs 50,000 on the remaining accused.

The verdict came out amid heavy security presence in Panchkula, with authorities clear on not having a repeat of the widespread violence that had been witnessed while he was being jailed in 2017.

Ram Rahim held guilt for murder

Former Dera manager Ranjit Singh was shot dead by four persons on July 10, 2002, in Kurukshetra. Sources had reported that Ranjit, who was also a follower of Ram Rahim, was murdered in 2002 for his suspected role in circulating an anonymous letter, which exposed that women were being sexually exploited by Ram Rahim at Dera headquarters.

According to the CBI charge sheet, the Dera chief received information that Ranjit circulated the anonymous letter and brewed a plan to kill him after which he was found murdered. Notably, rape charges against the self-styled godman were proved following his conviction in 2017 where he was held guilt for sexually assaulting two of his disciples. In 2017, the sect chief, at present lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak, was awarded 20-year imprisonment in the rape case. Later, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a journalist, Ram Chander Chhatrapati.

After lengthy proceedings in the Ranjit Singh murder case, the special CBI court on October 8, 2021, convicted Ram Rahim for killing his disciple in 2002. The Panchkula CBI court found him and four others guilty in the murder of the former Dera manager. After upholding his conviction, the court deferred his sentence to October 12 after which it was deferred a second time to October 18. 

Apart from rape and murder charges, the Dera chief is also accused of allegedly castrating more than 400 of his followers. He was also allegedly involved in the 2015 Sri Guru Granth Sahib sacrilege

(Image: PTI)