Ram Rahim plea: Taking back sacrilege cases from CBI even stamped by , SIT tells HC

The SIT response came to a plea from Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh filed on December 13 demanding that the CBI be asked to continue with the probe into the sacrilege FIRs of 2015

Chandigarh: The Punjab Police have told the Punjab and Haryana high court that even the apex court has stamped the Punjab government’s decision of taking back the probe into the 2015 sacrilege cases from Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and constituting an special investigation team (SIT) for the same.

The Punjab Police have told the Punjab and Haryana high court that even the apex court has stamped the Punjab government’s decision of taking back the probe into the 2015 sacrilege cases from Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and constituting an special investigation team (SIT) for the same.

The SIT response came to a plea from Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh filed on December 13 demanding that the CBI be asked to continue with the probe into the sacrilege FIRs of 2015. The plea demanded quashing of the Punjab government notification of September 6, 2018, wide which the consent given to the CBI to investigate three FIRs of sacrilege cases was withdrawn.

The SIT says five FIRs were registered for five different incidents of sacrilege in 2015 reported within 25 km of area in a span of five months, which points towards a well-planned conspiracy to hurt the sentiments of Sikhs and to disturb peace and tranquillity. Moreover, from the modus operandi, it was evident that people of a close-knit and large organisation were behind all these incidents, the SIT claimed.

The court has further been told that in November 2015, the then SAD government sent three FIRs for the CBI probe. When even in three years the CBI failed to trace the accused, a Punjab Police SIT was tasked with the probe. Subsequently, the Punjab government withdrew the consent and the SIT was re-constituted. As the CBI did not stop the probe, the matter went up to Supreme Court, which found withdrawal of consent “proper and legal”, the SIT said.

The court has further been informed that after this episode, one of the accused, Sukhjinder Singh, took the matter again to the Supreme Court. However, the apex court upheld the decision. Therefore, the matter has concluded now, it submitted.

The SIT says the dera chief has been nominated as an accused in some cases and quizzed too on some occasions. From the investigation of five cases, a challan has been presented in four cases. The probe would clearly indicate that conspiracy of the scurrilous acts was hatched at the dera premises. There are common accused, Harsh Dhuri, Sandeep Bareta and Pardeep Kler, who were members of the national committee of the Dera Sacha Sauda and have directed the actual perpetrators to commit the crime, it claims.

“It is clear that if the planning of the crime was made at dera headquarters and the petitioner being head of the dera is bound to be involved in these criminal activities, keeping in mind the criminal bend of mind of the petitioner as he has already been convicted in three cases of murder and rape. Under these circumstances, the involvement of the petitioner is prime facie is made out,” the SIT claims adding that sacrilege incidents were committed by the followers of the dera under his “direct” command.