PNS n
The son of a slain journalist, who had first exposed sexual exploitation of female disciples of Dera Sacha Sauda sect by its chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in 2002, on Monday said that their stand against him has been vindicated following his conviction and imprisonment for 20 years for the rape of two woman followers.
Anshul Chhatrapati, the son of murdered Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chandra Chhatrapati welcomed the CBI special court judgment awarding 20 years imprisonment to the dera chief.
His father was shot dead, allegedly by sect supporters at the behest of the sect chief, in October 2002 after he wrote about shady activities inside the sect headquarters near Sirsa in his vernacular newspaper.
The murder case is pending before the special CBI court in Panchkula and hearing of final arguments is likely to be held next month.
Anshul, while reacting to the conviction and sentencing of the dera chief by the court, said, “I am satisfied with the order of the court. The dera chief had done heinous crimes and the pronouncement of the sentence has given strength to our fight against the might of this fraud saint.”
People did not agree when we said that Ram Rahim Singh is involved in objectionable activities. (I am) happy the court proved it today, added Anshul.
Months after Ram Chandra Chhatrapati had published an anonymous letter giving details about how women were sexually harassed by Gurmeet Ram Rahim at Sirsa dear headquarters, he was shot from point-blank range right outside his house on October 24, 2002.
The anonymous letter published by Chhatrapati in his newspaper was addressed to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and heads of several other institutions including the Chief Juctice of Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Notably, the investigations into the rape charges against Ram Rahim were triggered by this anonymous letter written in 2002.
Ram Rahim is facing trial in two separate murder cases - those of dera follower Ranjit Singh in July 2002 and of journalist Ram Chander Chattrapati in October that same year.
The special CBI court in Panchkula had on Friday convicted dera chief in the 2002 rape case.
No one can escape law: Yoga Guru Ramdev
Yogu guru Baba Ramdev on Monday backed the CBI court judgement sentencing self-styled Godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in 15 year old double rape case.
“Court has set an example that no one can escape the law,”said Ramdev after the Dera chief was sentenced 20 years in prison.
“Dharm ke naam pe adharm nahin hona chahiye. Hinsa, attyachar aur balatkar ko dharm nahi bol sakte (There should not be injustice in the name of religion. Violence, atrocities and rape doesn’t fall under religious/spiritual activities),” he said adding that the path might be tough but it’s never too late in the "court of justice".
Dera chairperson makes appeal for peace
Dera chairperson Vipassana Insaan, who is also in the race to succeed Ram Rahim as the head of the Sirsa-based sect, appealed for peace and asked followers to “abide by the judgment”. Vipassana is widely seen as one of the candidates to succeed Ram Rahim as the leader of the Dera sect, along with his adopted daughter Honeypreet. Vipassana, 35, joined the Dera right out of college and said, as chairperson, she is second in the Dera's ranks.
Opposition mounts attack on Haryana Govt
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Sanghvi mounted attack on the Manohar lal Khattar Government in Haryana and said that despite the high court’s remarks on the violence after Dera chief’s conviction, the Haryana chief minister did not offer to resign.
BSP chief Mayawati also asked why the Haryana Government has not been dismissed after violence by Dera followers, taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks that violence in the name of faith would not be tolerated and the guilty would be punished.
“Had there been any honesty and truth in what the Prime Minister stated in his ‘Mann ki Baat’, the Manohar lal Khattar Government would have been dismissed by now after the stern view taken by the Punjab and Haryana High Court,” Mayawati said in a statement here.