Panchakula: Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS)chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted by a special court here on Friday. The self-styled godman and three others have been convicted of murdering a journalist by the court.
The journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati was shot in October 2002 outside his house after his newspaper ”Poora Sach” published an anonymous letter narrating how women were being sexually exploited by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa.
The case was registered in 2003 and handed over to the CBI in 2006.
Ram Rahim was named the main conspirator in the case.
The three others convicted are Kuldeep Singh, Nirmal Singh and Krishan Lal, all close aides of Ram Rahim.
Fearing law and order situation, Ram Rahim attended the court session through video conferencing.
Security has been beefed up in Haryana and parts of Punjab where many followers of the cult Dera Sacha Sauda reside. Panchkula DCP Kamal Deep Goel imposed Section 144 of CrPC throughout the district on Thursday.
On 25 August 2017, Ram Rahim was convicted of rape by a special Central Beareu of Investigation (CBI) court. His conviction had led to widespread violence from the members of DSS.
On 28 August 2017, Ram Rahim was sentenced to 20 years in jail for rape. He has also faced prosecution for murder and ordering forced castrations.
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Ms Kalinga