Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday take up a petition seeking directions to the Haryana Government to “verify the authenticity” of Dera Sacha Sauda sect head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. For, the sect’s “staunch followers” have filed a petition alleging that the State Government, in collusion with some people, had replaced Ram Rahim with a “dummy person” — the allegations refuted by the Dera authorities as “baseless” and an “attempt to damage Dera’s image”.
The self-styled God Ram Rahim is currently serving life imprisonment in Rohtak’s Sunaria jail for murder former Dera manager Ranjit Singh in 2002. He has also been convicted for raping two Dera followers and sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment in 2017. He was, in the June end, released on one-month parole.
The petition, filed by “Dera follower” Ashok Kumar and 18 others against the State of Haryana and other respondents, sought directions to “verify the authenticity of the Dera chief”. Directions have also been sought to the State and other respondents to conduct a fair and impartial inquiry into the matter as the “dummy person” in collusion with some others was deeply hurting religious sentiments of the petitioners and other followers.
The petitioners alleged that after Ram Rahim’s arrest, they noticed various changes in his figure and personality. The height increased by one inch, the length of the fingers of hands, as well as the size of feet, increased; the size of eyes reduced and its shape changed, the width of shoulders reduced, teeth arrangement changed, voice and body language altered, among others, it added.
The petitioners maintained that “bare perusal of the videos and photographs published by (the) alleged Dera chief or dummy person during the present parole period clearly reveals that his face and hands have a makeover or masking and that changes from video to video. Moreover, during a meeting with his villagers, (the) alleged Dera chief or dummy person even failed to recognise his old friends. Even it is admitted fact that (the) Dera chief is known for his bold and clear statements, but now during the present parole period, (the) alleged Dera Chief or dummy person (was) himself contradicting (the) Dera chief’s earlier statements”.
The petitioners also alleged that they came to know through some unconfirmed sources that the original Dera chief had been abducted to Udaipur, Rajasthan, and now they were planning to replace the dummy person with the original, “and perhaps they would kill the original one”.
The petition further claimed that the petitioners came to know that some changes were made to Ram Rahim’s Aadhaar card after the grant of present parole and the motive behind this was to usurp the Dera chief’s trust through forged documentation as he is the only owner of the trust that has huge immovable property. The matter should be inquired thoroughly by an independent agency like the CBI, the petition sought.
To substantiate the claims, the petitioner submitted that during 2015-2016 period, several body doubles and duplicates of Ram Rahim were trained during the shooting of a movie named Online Gurukul, directed by the Dera chief himself. The duplicates seemed so original that even Ram Rahim’s daughter failed to identify her father, they said.
The petitioners said that they moved a representation on the matter to the Haryana Chief Minister on June 22 but no action had been taken.
NO TRUTH, BASELESS ALLEGATIONS: DERA
Refuting the allegations made by a section of Dera followers in the petition filed in the High Court as “baseless” and “without any substance”, Dera Sacha Sauda authorities on Sunday claimed that it was an attempt to mislead the sangat.
So much so, that the Dera authorities have appealed to the administration to look into the entire matter thoroughly as in who are these people who are trying to damage Dera’s image.
“By doing so, we are raising finger, we are doubting the entire system, entire machinery...I request the administration to look into it thoroughly...Who are these people who are trying to damage Dera’s image,” said the Dera spokesperson adding that many anti-Dera powers are there and it was on the probe agency to find out the real motive behind it.
Pointing that earlier also a petition was filed by a set of “Dera followers”, spokesperson said that it was then alleged that the sect head had threat to his life in Sunaria jail. “On High Court’s directions, Rohtak judge has then met the Dera chief in the jail, and clarified that there was no such threat. The court had then imposed Rs 50,000 fine on the petitioners for wasting the Court’s time. That petition was filed by one Mohit Gupta, but on one of the date, one Ashok Kumar has appeared. We believed that it’s the same people who have filed the plea now,” said the spokesperson.