North News
New Delhi, January 3
Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) appealed against his acquittal in the 2002 murder of Dera manager Ranjit Singh. In 2021, a CBI court in Panchkula convicted Ram Rahim and four others, sentencing them to life imprisonment for the murder of Ranjit Singh, who was shot dead on July 10, 2002, in Khanpur Kolian village, Kurukshetra. The CBI contended that Ram Rahim orchestrated the murder after suspecting Ranjit Singh’s involvement in circulating an anonymous letter accusing him of sexual exploitation. The agency cited testimony from Ram Rahim’s former driver, Khatta Singh, linking the Dera chief to the crime.
However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted Ram Rahim and the others, citing insufficient evidence, including the failure to seize the car used in the crime and the lack of weapons or a site plan from the CBI.
Ram Rahim, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for the rape of two disciples, is incarcerated in Sunaria Jail in Rohtak, Haryana. The CBI Special Court in Panchkula also sentenced Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim to life imprisonment in 2019 in connection with the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. Dera manager Krishan Lal, and carpenters Nirmal Singh and Kuldeep Singh were sentenced to life term in the case.
