Rape convict Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim acquitted in ex-manager's murder

The high court passed the order while allowing an appeal filed by the 56-year-old Gurmeet Ram Rahim against his conviction.

In 2021, a CBI court had convicted Ram Rahim and four other accused and sentenced them to life imprisonment for hatching the conspiracy to murder the Dera manager in 2002. The other four accused in the case were Avtar Singh, Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh and Sabdil Singh. One of the accused passed away during the trial.

The controversial head of the Sirsa-headquartered sect, had challenged this conviction by the CBI in the high court.

"The high court has acquitted him in the Ranjit Singh murder case," Dera chief's lawyer Jitender Khurana said.

Two rape cases

Gurmeet Ram Rahim is currently in Rohtak’s Sunaria jail serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted of raping two sadhvis at the dera and in the murder case of journalist Ram Chander Prajapati.

Prajapati had reported extensively on the sexual assault allegations against the influential Dera chief. While Ram Rahm has been acquitted in the murder case of Ranjit Singh, his appeal in the journalist murder case is pending.

Ranjit Singh's murder

Ranjit Singh, the former manager of Dera Sacha Sauda, and also a follower of the sect, was shot dead on July 10, 2002, at Khanpur Kolian village in Haryana's Kurukshetra. As per the CBI chargesheet, Ram Rahim suspected that Ranjit Singh was the one who had circulated a letter exposing cases of sexual abuse of the female disciples by the Dera chief.

The CBI court had said it was proved beyond reasonable doubt that Ram Rahim was aggrieved by the circulation of the letter, and he conspired with other accused to murder Ranjit Singh.

On October 18, 2021, the court handed Ram Rahim and four others life imprisonment in the case. A fine of Rs 31 lakh was slapped on the Dera chief.

Sexual assault allegations at the Dera

The Dera Sacha Sauda in Haryana's Sirsa, had made news when shocking allegations of sexual assault surfaced against Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

The CBI started a probe and a decade after the probe began in 2014, the Dera chief claimed he was impotent. The court, however, rejected this claim. After his conviction, a huge crowd of his supporters clashed with the police.

No more parole for Dera chief

Recently, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had asked the Haryana government not to grant further parole to Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh without its permission.

The court also directed the Haryana government to give details in an affidavit as to "how many persons having such criminal antecedents and sentenced in three cases have been granted this benefit".

The bench passed these directions to the Haryana government in a case filed by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee in 2023 challenging the number of times Ram Rahim was being granted parole.