Ram Rahim conviction: Fate of Dera ashram in Sector 50 uncertain, court to decide

Following large-scale violence by Dera followers after the conviction of Ram Rahim Singh in a 15-year-old rape case by a special CBI court on August 25 in Panchkula, in which public property was damaged and more than 30 were killed, the high court directed the state government to evaluate Dera’s assets to compensate the damages.

The fate of Dera Sacha Sauda ashram in Gurgaon is in the balance after the Punjab and Haryana high court sought details of all Dera assets from the Gurgaon administration and also other districts in the state.

The ashram, ‘ Naam Charcha Ghar’ in South City-2 in Sector 50 is wearing a deserted look for the last four days. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

Following large-scale violence by Dera followers after the conviction of Ram Rahim Singh in a 15-year-old rape case by a special CBI court on August 25 in Panchkula, in which public property was damaged and more than 30 were killed, the high court directed the state government to evaluate Dera’s assets to compensate the damages.

The ashram, ‘ Naam Charcha Ghar’ in South City-2 in Sector 50 is wearing a deserted look for the last four days. The facility, spread over 1,155 sq yards, was alloted to Dera by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) in June 2006.

Huda also gave possession of the plot to Dera Sacha Sauda in 2008 and submitted the land details, with current market value, to Gurgaon district administration.

An official told Hindustan Times that the property is currently valued from Rs4 crore to Rs5 crore, roughly.

“We cannot reveal the exact calculation done by the competent officials but roughly, as per current collector rate, it will definitely not cost less than Rs4.5 crore as a well-furnished three-storey building has also come up on the land. Since the high court is monitoring the issue, we cannot reveal details of the matter to the media,” the official said.

A contingent of the Gurgaon police continues to monitor the area and the ashram, the main gate of which continues to remain locked.

The outer wall of the ashram still has a large hoarding of Ram Rahim Singh’s latest movie Jattu Engineer, also produced and directed by him. The police have evacuated the ashram and have strictly prohibited the entry of public.

Residents of the area said that the hoarding has turned into a joke among the locals. “Baba Ram Rahim looks so funny on the Enfield Bullet. He used to come here in luxury car with his cavalcade. The entire area used to turn high-profile with his presence but now, all is gone and the police have taken custody of the ashram,” said Diler Singh of Jharsa.

Vinay Pratap Singh, deputy commissioner (DC) of Gurgaon, said, “We have assessed Dera’s assets and sent the details to the Haryana government. We will not reveal any particulars in this regard.”

“Our duty magistrates and police have done a tremendous job in ensuring peace across the city,” said Singh.

The CBI court on Monday sentenced Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to 20 years imprisonment.