Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been found guilty of rape by a special CBI court in Panchkula, Haryana, and has been immediately taken into judicial custody. He will be sentenced on Monday. A rape conviction applies a minimum sentence of seven years and maximum 10 years.
Following the verdict, followers of the leader resorted to stone pelting and broke barricades following, compelling the police to lob tear gas shells and fire shots in the air. It was a scene of utter chaos, portraying the truth behind blind faith. Large masses of women began to cry, and followers of Gurmeet Singh went berserk, allegedly damaging OB vans of a private TV channel. At least five people have been killed and around 100 injured. Police fired shots in the air, lobbed tear gas and let loose water cannons on the protesters to tone down the violence that only appears to be spreading in Haryana, Punjab and even Rajasthan.
Charges against Gurmeet date back to 2002, when a Dera sadhvi wrote an anonymous letter to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying she was raped by the Dera chief. She also accused him of raping several other female followers inside the campus of the group, located in the outskirts of Haryana. Thousands of followers gathered in Panchkula ahead of the judgement. Just two hours before the verdict, the Punjab and Haryana high court gave the state government right to use force when required and file FIRs against any Gurmeet follower who broke the law or made provocative statements.
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said, “Ready to deal with any circumstances, security arrangements are in place, I appeal for peace and calm.” Army columns were moved into Panchkula early in the morning, ahead of the verdict. Around 53 companies of the paramilitary forces, and 50,000 personnel of the Haryana Police were deployed in both, Haryana and Punjab.
The case was handed over to the CBI, who questioned 18 sadhvis, and two of them levelled allegations of rape against the spiritual leader. Their statements are part of the CBI chargesheet filed in 2007, in the CBI special court.
