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SIT grilled Ram Rahim 3 days after naming him in two sacrilege cases
The SIT’s visit to Rohtak’s Sunaria jail on March 2 was kept under wraps; dera head was asked 170 questions
Faridkot : After nominating Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh as accused in the Bargari sacrilege case, the Punjab Police special investigation team (SIT) probing the 2015 sacrilege cases visited the Sunaria jail in Haryana’s Rohtak district on March 2 and questioned him for the third time in four months.
The visit was kept under wraps due to Punjab assembly elections. Earlier, the SIT had questioned Ram Rahim at Sunaria jail on November 8 and December 12.
Ram Rahim, serving a 20-year term for raping two women disciples at his ashram and life term for murdering a journalist, was released from Sunaria jail on February 7 on furlough. He was again sent to the jail after his furlough ended on February 28.
The SIT led by Ludhiana range inspector general of police (IGP) Surinder Pal Singh Parmar asked around 170 questions from the sect head during his eight hours of grilling over his alleged role in two sacrilege cases wherein derogatory posters were put up at Bargari on September 24, 2015, night and torn pages of a “bir” were found scattered near Bargari gurdwara on October 12, 2015.
On February 27, the SIT had nominated Ram Rahim as the main conspirator in the derogatory posters and Bargari sacrilege cases. On February 28, the SIT sent a letter to the Rohtak district magistrate seeking permission to interrogate Ram Rahim at Sunairia jail on February 28, following which instructions were issued to the jail superintendent to allow the SIT to question the dera chief on March 2.
An official privy to the development said after finding more evidence, the SIT visited Sunaria jail and questioned Ram Rahim for the third time. “Around 170 questions were asked from the dera head, which included his role in the Bargari sacrilege cases. He was also asked about the structure and functioning of dera’s management committee,” the official said.
Why sect harbouring families of POs, SIT asks Ram Rahim
The SIT also questioned the Ram Rahim regarding the whereabouts of three absconding members of the dera’s national committee -- Sandeep Bareta, Pardeep Kler and Harsh Dhuri -- who are the key link in Punjab’s three sacrilege incidents that sparked off state-wide protests in 2015. The trio has been declared proclaimed offenders (PO) in five sacrilege cases.
“During interrogation, Ram Rahim denied to have any information of Breta, Kler and Dhuri and refused to have any link with them at present. The SIT counter questioned him why the sect is harbouring families of absconding national committee members on the dera premises at Sirsa if they have no link with them at present? Ram Rahim, however, failed to give a satisfactory answer and tried to evade the following questions,” the official said.
The SIT in a chargesheet claimed that the interrogation of other accused and the dera head’s questioning gives clear evidence that the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib was committed on the directions of Ram Rahim. The probe team claims to have found that the instructions to execute sacrilege at Bargari, Moga and Gurusar were given by Bareta, Kler and Dhuri in Sangrur to the district dera committee members on Ram Rahim’s directions.
