Varanasi sadhus stage protest, demand death sentence for Ram Rahim

The sadhus held placards and shouted slogans against Ram Rahim at Rajendra Prasad and said he should be awarded capital punishment for his misdeeds.

Smeared in ashes and holding tridents, damrus (small two-headed drums) and kamandals (water pots used by ascetics) in their hands, a group of sadhus on Monday demanded hanging of rape convict Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

A group of sadhus demanded hanging of rape convict Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

The sadhus held placards and shouted slogans against Ram Rahim at Rajendra Prasad and said he should be awarded capital punishment for his misdeeds.

“Ram Rahim should be given strict punishment and should be hanged.”

A sadhu Dhuni Baba said Ram Rahim had lust for money and power and lived a luxurious life. “A true sadhu gives up all worldly pleasures and luxuries and leads a simple life,” he said.

“Ram Rahim should be given strict punishment and should be hanged,” he demanded.

The 50-year-old Dera Sacha Sauda chief was on Friday found guilty in a 15-year-old rape case. Within minutes of the verdict, his followers ran riot and clashed with security forces, leaving 38 people dead and 250 injured. While 32 people died in Panchkula, where the case was heard, six died in Sirsa, the headquarters of the sect.