Dera follower's murder: HC tells co-accused to move trial court for bail

Disposing of the bail petition of Sabdil Singh, a co-accused in Dera Sacha Sauda follower Ranjit Singh's murder case, the Punjab and Haryana high court has directed him to move the bail plea before the CBI special court, Haryana, at Panchkula, where the trial case is under progress.

Disposing of the bail petition of Sabdil Singh, a co-accused in Dera Sacha Sauda follower Ranjit Singh's murder case, the Punjab and Haryana high court has directed him to move the bail plea before the CBI special court, Haryana, at Panchkula, where the trial is under progress.

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The petition came up for hearing in the court of justice KC Puri. Sabdil, dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's former gunman, is lodged in the central jail, Ambala. The HC also directed the trial court to conclude the trial expeditiously.

The HC had on November 11, 2003, handed over the investigation into the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Ranjit Singh was murdered on July 10, 2002, allegedly by dera followers in his field in Kurukshetra. It is alleged that the dera head suspected him (Ranjit) to be behind an anonymous letter of a sadhvi levelling allegations of sexual exploitation against him (Gurmeet Ram Rahim). Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, Indersen and Avtaar are also accused in the case.

Earlier, co-accused Jasbir Singh had moved the apex court seeking bail. On May 14, the Supreme Court had disposed of his petition with directions to approach the trial court.