Judge who jailed Ram Rahim to give sentence in Apna Ghar sexual abuse case

The judge of the special CBI court in Haryana, who sentenced Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim last year to 20 years in jail for raping two women, will give his verdict in the Apna Ghar sexual abuse case on Friday.

Judge Jagdeep Singh is expected to give the order in the case after 2pm.

Singh is known for his competence and toughness and his colleagues describe him as a very competent, tough and upright judge with a no-nonsense attitude. He was a Punjab and Haryana high court lawyer before he joined the judicial service.

Singh, who hails from Haryana, completed his law degree from Panjab University (PU) around 2000 and was known to be a bright student.

The judge hit the headlines in September 2016 when he and rushed four people, who were seriously injured in a road accident, to a hospital in Jind district.

Reports said he first called up the emergency number and asked the operator to rush an ambulance but was told the vehicle “cannot come flying”. He then stopped a private vehicle and took the injured to the hospital.

The owner of Apna Ghar Jaswanti Devi, her family members and employees have been held guilty of sexually and physically assaulting inmates of the shelter home in Haryana’s Rohtak city.

They were arrested in 2012 by the Central Bureau of Investigation following a raid by the National Council for the Protection of Child Rights.

In one of the region’s worst sexual crimes, the shelter’s inmates, including minors, adults and disabled, were subjected to shocking sexual and physical abuse.

Read | Rohtak Apna Ghar case: Court testimony of victims reveals house of horror

Based on their testimony and other evidence, the judge on April 18 convicted Jaswanti Devi, her daughter Sushma alias Simmi, son-in-law Jai Bhagwan, brother Jaswant, cousin Sheela, driver Satish, employee Ram Prakash Saini and counsellor Veena on charges of sexual and physical molestation of inmates.

Another accused Roshni was convicted for buying a child born delivered by a rape victim.

The probe agency has sought the maximum punishment for all the nine convicts.

Timeline

May 7, 2012: Three girls escape from Rohtak’s government-funded shelter home Apna Ghar and contact a helpline after reaching Delhi.

May 9: NCPCR conducts a raid at the Apna Ghar shelter home and rescues over 100 inmates. Jaswanti Devi, who ran the shelter, and several of her relatives are arrested.

June 8: The Haryana government seals the shelter and a week later hands over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

August 7: CBI files chargesheet against 10 people in special CBI court in Panchkula.

September 23, 2014: CBI court frames charges against all accused and begins trial.

February 14, 2018: Evidence closed and final arguments begin.

April 18: Nine of 10 accused held guilty.

April 27: CBI judge to pronounce sentence.