Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, 4 others acquitted in murder case by high court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in the murder case of Dera manager Ranjit Singh.

Updated on: May 28, 2024, 13:38:43 IST

By HT News Desk | Written by Vaishnawi Sinha | Edited by Aniruddha Dhar

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The Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim and four others in the murder case of Dera manager Ranjit Singh. In 2021, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court found Ram Rahim and other accused in the case guilty of Singh's murder, sentencing them to life imprisonment.

Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim (HT File)

Ram Rahim's counsel said after the hearing, “Punjab and Haryana HC acquits Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in murder case of his ex-manager Ranjit Singh.”

The Sirsa-headquartered sect chief, who is also serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples, is currently lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak, Haryana.

Former Dera manager Ranjit Singh was shot dead 19 years ago, on July 10, 2002 at Khanpur Kolian village in Haryana's Kurukshetra. It was suspected that he was murdered because of his alleged role in circulating a letter which narrated how women were being sexually exploited by the sect head at the Dera headquarters.

The CBI court in Panchkula convicted Ram Rahim and four others in the case, after which the sect chief appealed to the high court. Apart from the Dera chief, the other accused in the case were Avtar Singh, Jasbir Singh, Sabdil Singh and Krishan Lal.

The five accused, previously convicted in the case, were held guilty of offence under Section 120 b of the IPC read with Section 302 of the IPC and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) read with Section 120 b, reported The Indian Express.

The contents of the anonymous letter allegedly circulated by Singh accused Ram Rahim of sexually exploiting the sadhvis living inside his ashram. The same letter was later used by Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati in a news report.

Chhatrapati was killed soon after his news report caught the eye of many agencies. Gurmeet Ram Rahim was recently convicted on the charges of murdering the journalist.

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