Gurmeet Ram Rahim chief of Dera Sacha Sauda sentenced 10-year jail term for Rape Case
The judge was brought to Rohtak by a chopper from Chandigarh and it landed in a helipad near the jail located on the outskirts of Rohtak.
A special CBI court on Monday sentenced Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to 10 years in prison after his conviction in a 2002 rape case that triggered violence, leaving 38 dead and injuring scores of people in Haryana.
CBI Judge Jagdeep Singh, who holds the court in Panchkula, near Chandigarh, pronounced the sentence in a special courtroom set up inside the Sunaria jail in Rohtak where the 50-year-old self-styled godman, is lodged since last Friday after his conviction.
The judge was brought to Rohtak by a chopper from Chandigarh and it landed in a helipad near the jail located on the outskirts of the city.
The judge awarded the 10-year jail term after hearing arguments on the quantum of sentence by prosecution and defence lawyers.
The special courtroom within the jail was set up on the instructions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The court had notified the jail as a place of sitting of the CBI court of Additional District and Sessions Judge, Panchkula for the purpose of hearing on the quantum of sentence and pronouncement of the sentence.
A multi-layer security cordon manned by police and 23 companies of paramilitary forces was thrown in and around Rohtak and also around the jail. The Army has been kept on standby while all routes to the jail were sealed.
Haryana and Punjab remained on high alert with officials warning that violent miscreants will be shot at sight, describing the security situation as “challenging.”
The special CBI court in Panchkula last Friday held Ram Rahim Singh guilty of rape in a case that was registered on the basis of an anonymous written complaint in April 2002 that he had sexually exploited two female followers. The case was registered by the CBI in December 2002 on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The CBI filed the charge sheet against the Dera head in a Ambala court in July 2007 about five years after the registration of the rape case. The charge sheet mentions sexual exploitation of two ‘sadhvis’ (women followers) between 1999 and 2001.
The special CBI court framed charges against him under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC in September 2008.
Between 2009 and 2010, the two complainants recorded their statements before the court.
The special CBI court shifted from Ambala to Panchkula and the case against the Dera chief was also transferred to Panchkula CBI Court.
In July 2017, the court ordered daily hearing and arguments of the prosecution and the defence were concluded on August 17, 2017. It held Ram Rahim guilty of rape on August 25.
The authorities are geared to prevent a repeat of the mayhem on Friday by the followers of the Dera chief.
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), prohibiting assembly of five or more persons, and carrying of firearms and other weapons, are already in place in Rohtak district.
Rohtak Deputy Commissioner Atul Kumar said police will not hesitate to open fire again at those spreading violence.
He said the Rohtak administration and security personnel were dealing with a “dynamic and challenging situation“.
Haryana DGP B S Sandhu also said that “maintaining law and order is the top priority for the Haryana Police today.” .
Rohtak Range IG, Navdeep Singh Virk said the Haryana Police was fully geared to deal with any situation and police from neighbouring districts too has been deployed.
He said it would be ensured that no Dera follower is allowed to enter Rohtak district or come near the jail. “For that we have set up special barricades across the entire Rohtak district,” he said.
As a precautionary measure, schools and other educational institutions remained shut in Haryana while these will remain closed in the sensitive districts of Punjab.
Kindly send reply or comments on this topic to [email protected]
Source:The Hindu
GURMEET RAM RAHIM SINGH
