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Ram Rahim’s former driver to depose afresh against him in murder case
CBI court asks Khatta Singh him to appear for statement on May 5; had earlier turned hostile in 2012.
Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Panchkula on Wednesday allowed Khatta Singh to depose afresh against rape convict Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in the ongoing murder trial of former dera follower Ranjit Singh and journalist Ram Chandra Chattrapati.
Ram Rahim is the prime accused in both the cases along with others.
Khatta Singh, former driver of the dera chief, he has been asked to appear before court on May 5, when CBI court will record his statement afresh in the Ranjit murder case. His deposition in the murder case of slain journalist Ram Chandra Chattrapati will be held later.
The development comes days after Punjab and Haryana high court on April 22 allowed Khatta’s plea for statement after CBI court declined it in December last year.
During Wednesday’s hearing, CBI counsel referred to the high court orders and sought direction for Khatta Singh’s deposition.
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‘Turned hostile earlier’
Khatta Singh was among CBI’s most important witnesses after the dera chief and his men were booked for allegedly killing Ranjit Singh and journalist Ram Chandra Chattrapati in 2002.
He claimed that he was privy to meetings in which Ram Rahim had ordered his men to eliminate Ranjit Singh and Chattrapati. But he later turned hostile during testimony before the court in February 2012, denying any knowledge of the dera chief’s involvement in these cases. He also blamed the CBI of “pressurising him” to depose against the dera chief.
But days after Ram Rahim’s conviction in a rape case, Khatta suddenly resurfaced, pleading before CBI court that he had earlier turned hostile due to “threat from Ram Rahim and his goons”. He pleaded that he should be allowed to testify again in order to “bring out the truth”.
