Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar on Monday evening convened an emergency meeting of top officials of the state after Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, convicted in a 2002 rape case, was sentenced to 20 years in jail.
The Chief Minister held a meeting with the Chief Secretary, home secretary, Haryana DGP and other senior officials to take stock of the situation after the CBI court awarded the jail term to the Dera chief.
To prevent any further trouble, CBI Judge Jagdeep Singh today pronounced the sentence in a makeshift court in Sunaria jail, where Ram Rahim, 50, had been lodged since his conviction.
After the meetng, Manohar lal made an appeal to the people, especially the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda, to respect the sentence pronounced by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Court in the case regarding dera chief and help in maintaining peace in the State.
“The court has sentenced the Dera chief to imprisonment of 10 years each in two rape cases, and imposed a fine of Rs 15 lakh in each case. The sentences will run consecutively, resulting in imprisonment of 20 years and fine of Rs 30 lakh. No person is above the law and everybody should respect the verdict delivered by the court,” he added.
Manohar lal said that effective arrangements had been made to maintain peace in the State following the decision of the court. Strict action would be taken against any person who attempts to disturb the law-and-order situation which was reviewed at a high-level meeting held here during the day, he added.
DGP BS Sandhu said that the situation in the State is under control and peace prevailed. No report of any untoward incident after the court proceedings was reported, he added.