E-Paper
More trouble in store for Dera Sacha Sauda head Ram Rahim
Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been convicted in three cases so far, but there could be more trouble in store for him as a case relating to castration of dera followers in 2000 is still pending against him
Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been convicted in three cases so far, but there could be more trouble in store for him.
The trial in another the case by the CBI is pending before the special CBI court in Panchkula. The case relates to castration of dera followers in 2000. The CBI has claimed that 128 of 166 followers, whose names were mentioned in a complaint, were contacted and examined during the probe. Six of them became CBI’s main witness and deposed against the dera head saying they were castrated at the behest of Ram Rahim at dera headquarters in Sirsa in early 2000.
In December 2014, the Punjab and Haryana high court had handed over the probe to the CBI on a plea of one Hans Raj Chauhan of Fatehabad district, who alleged that the followers were castrated after giving them the false hope that “males who would get castrated would be able to achieve God through Ram Rahim”.
On February 1, 2018, the CBI had charged the dera head and two doctors in the case. According to the chargesheet, a large number of followers were castrated at the behest of Ram Rahim by Dr Pankaj Garg and Dr MP Singh.
Though Ram Rahim has not been charged for the Panchkula violence of 2017, reported soon after his conviction in the cases of sexual exploitation, there has been demand from various quarters to probe his role. In fact, a person in January 2020, approached the CBI court demanding that he be roped in as an accused. His application was based on testimony of a witness who had claimed that the dera head in 2017 gave instructions to resort to violence if he is convicted in rape cases.
As many as 36 persons died and 423 were injured in the violence following his conviction in Panchkula alone. Panchkula police had registered 177 FIRs against 2,318 accused and 2,167 were arrested. There were reports of widespread damage in Punjab and Haryana too.
