The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the incidents of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib in 2015 has told the high court that jailed Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is bound to be involved in the crime. The high court was hearing a plea from Ram Rahim, challenging a Faridkot court order on production warrants of Ram Rahim.
Three incidents of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib, the holiest scripture of Sikhs, were reported in Faridkot district of Punjab in 2015.
In an affidavit filed in the high court, SIT member Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar has stated that confessional statements of the accused of these cases clearly indicate that a conspiracy was hatched at the administrative block of Dera Sacha Suada headquarters in Sirsa. The common accused, namely Harsh Dhuri, Sandeep Bareta and Pardeep Kler, who were members of the national committee of the dera, directed the actual perpetrators to commit these acts of sacrilege, Bhullar stated. “…keeping in mind the criminal bend of Ram Rahim’s mind as he has been convicted in three cases of murder and rape, it can be easily concluded that he was the main culprit behind all these cases. Moreover, it is an open secret that the members of the Dera did not do a single act without the permission of the petitioner and were willing to lay down their lives for him,” he has submitted.
Earlier, the SIT led by inspector general of police Surinder Pal Singh Parmar submitted a status report with the high court by way of an affidavit. An interrogation report, including the copies of the questionnaires as well as replies, of Ram Rahim and dera vice-chairperson Prithvi Raj Nain, was filed along with the affidavit.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, the SIT led by inspector general of police Surinder Pal Singh Parmar submitted a status report with the high court by way of an affidavit. An interrogation report, including the copies of the questionnaires as well as replies, of Ram Rahim and dera vice-chairperson Prithvi Raj Nain, was filed along with the affidavit.
{{/usCountry}}The SIT claims Pardeep Kumar, an accused, in his statement said the dera chief was not happy with Sikhs for not allowing screening of his movie. After some dera followers were humiliated in Burj Jawaharpur Singh Wala village, Ram Rahim allegedly deputed a 45-member team to commit sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib. After these incidents, “elated” Ram Rahim rewarded them, one of the accused (Pardeep of Faridkot) said in his confessional statement before a court.
The SIT claims that it is clear that the planning of the crime was made at the dera and “the petitioner being the head of dera is bound to be involved”.
The SIT further says it interrogated Ram Rahim and his replies were evasive and he pretended to be ignorant of the occurrences around him, the SIT has said, seeking his custodial interrogation. The SIT was allowed to grill Ram Rahim in Rohtak jail itself. The high court, however, did not agree to bring Ram Rahim to Punjab even as police had submitted that it will make adequate arrangements. Ram Rahim has been questioning the state’s hurry in bringing him to Punjab and linking him to these cases, alleging that same was being done for political reasons.
The Dera head is lodged in Sunaria jail of Rohtak since August 25, 2017. In 2017, he was awarded 20-year jail term for the rape of two disciples. Subsequently, he has been convicted in murder cases of a journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and former dera manager Ranjit Singh in which life sentence was awarded to him.