The Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in the murder case of Dera manager Ranjit Singh. However, despite his acquittal in the murder trial, he will still serve time in Rohtak jail. Why? Before addressing the “why,” let’s first reminisce about the Dera manager Ranjit Singh murder case.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim and four others were given life imprisonment after being found guilty by a CBI special court on October 18, 2021, for the killing of Ranjit Singh. The other four accused were Avatar Singh, Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, and Sabdil Singh. The sixth accused, Inder Sain, died in 2020 during the trial.
The Dera manager, Ranjit Singh, was shot dead when he was returning from his fields in his native village in the Kurukshetra district on July 10, 2002. He was murdered over his suspected involvement in circulating an anonymous letter that claimed the Dera had become a center of female disciples’ exploitation.
It was based on this letter that a rape case trial was registered against Baba Ram Rahim in 2002.
And now, Ram Rahim has been acquitted.
Why?
He will remain convicted and serve his imprisonment period because he stands convicted in two other cases involving the rape of two former Dera Sadhvis and the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.
In October 2021, the special CBI court held that it was proved beyond reasonable doubt that Ram Rahim was aggrieved by the circulation of a letter wherein severe allegations of sexual exploitation of his disciples were leveled against him and that he conspired along with other accused to commit Ranjit Singh’s murder.
Pending Cases against Baba Ram Rahim
The Castration Case
The Baba was accused of castration, meaning the removal or destruction of the testicles or ovaries using radiation, surgery, or drugs, of 400 devotees. In 2015, a case was registered against him on the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court following a complaint by one of the victims. The CBI, on February 1, 2018, filed a charge sheet against Ram Rahim. Two doctors, including MP Singh and Pankaj Garg, were also named as accused in the case.
The Blasphemy Case
In 2007, he made religiously sensitive comments towards the Sikh community. He allegedly imitated Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, during a ceremony in Bathinda district. A Bathinda court in 2014 acquitted him in the case, but a revision petition was filed in 2015.