The North News
Chandigarh, March 7
Anshul Chhatrapati on Saturday said that he will approach the Supreme Court after the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the 2002 murder case of his father, journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.
Speaking on Saturday, Anshul Chhatrapati said the family would challenge the High Court’s decision, which he described as a “setback” after years of legal battle.
“We have been fighting this case since 2002 and it took years and sacrifices by the family to pursue justice. We are saddened by the High Court decision but remain hopeful that we will get justice from the Supreme Court,” he said.
He added that he expected the Central Bureau of Investigation, which had investigated the case, to also approach the top court against the acquittal.
Anshul Chhatrapati said the killing of his father was not an isolated crime but an attempt to silence a journalist who had raised questions about alleged wrongdoing within the Dera.
The High Court’s decision to acquit the Dera chief comes years after a special CBI court had convicted him in the case.
Journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati was shot outside his house in Sirsa, Haryana, in October 2002 after his newspaper Poora Sach published an anonymous letter alleging sexual exploitation of women followers at the Dera headquarters. He later died from his injuries.
A case was registered in which Ram Rahim was named as a conspirator, and the investigation was later handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation in 2006. In January 2019, a special CBI court in Panchkula convicted Ram Rahim and three others and sentenced them to life imprisonment for the murder. Ram Rahim is currently lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak, serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2017 for raping two of his disciples.
The High Court today acquitted Ram Rahim in the murder case more than seven years after a trial court had convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Earlier, the High Court had also acquitted Ram Rahim and four others in May 2024 in the 2002 murder of Ranjit Singh, citing what it described as a “tainted and sketchy” investigation.
