HC dismisses plea alleging Sirsa dera chief replaced with ‘dummy’

The plea from Ashok Kumar and 18 others, all dera followers from different parts of Punjab and Haryana, was dismissed by a bench of justice Karamjit Singh saying it “lacked merit”

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking direction to establish “authenticity” of Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is out on parole. The plea alleges that the person out on parole is not Ram Rahim and has been replaced with a “dummy” with the help of Honeypreet, who is said to be the “adopted daughter” of the dera chief, and Dr Prithvi Raj Nain, a dera functionary.

The Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking direction to establish “authenticity” of Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is out on parole. The plea alleges that the person out on parole is not Ram Rahim and has been replaced with a “dummy” with the help of Honeypreet, who is said to be the “adopted daughter” of the dera chief, and Dr Prithvi Raj Nain, a dera functionary.

The plea from Ashok Kumar and 18 others, all dera followers from different parts of Punjab and Haryana, was dismissed by a bench of justice Karamjit Singh saying it “lacked merit”.

Ram Rahim, lodged in Rohtak’s Sunaria jail following his conviction in two rape and two murder cases, all dating back to 2002, is currently out on a one-month parole since June 17. He is in jail since August 2017 when he was first convicted for the rape of two female disciples in 2002 on the Sirsa dera premises.

The plea demanded to establish “authenticity” whether the person on parole is Ram Rahim or a “dummy person” out on parole and an impartial inquiry into role of various persons, including that of jail authorities.

“The petitioners as well as other followers have noticed changes in the figure, personality of the dera chief (out on parole), which are not possible in a person who is 54 years old. The latest videos reveal his face and hands have a makeover or masking,” the plea claims, adding that during a meeting with villagers, the “dummy person” even failed to recognise his old friends.

“The dera chief is known for his bold and clear statements, but during his parole period, he is contradicting his earlier statements,” the plea said, adding that from reliable sources, they have come to know that “the original dera chief had been kidnapped to Udaipur, Rajasthan, and now they were planning to replace the dummy person with the original”.