MSG Actor Gurmeet Ram Rahim Found Guilty Of Rape, Taken Into Judicial Custody
Gurmeet Ram Rahim was accused of rape back in 2002 by one of the sadhvis. Now, the Court has found him guilty. Read On for the full story..
According To TOI, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram
Rahim Singh has been found guilty of rape by a special CBI court in Panchkula,
Haryana, today . He was immediately taken into judicial custody; he will be
sentenced on Monday.
The Dera head was present in court when the judgment
was read out. A rape conviction carries a minimum sentence of
seven years and a maximum of 10 years.
Soon after the Dera chief's conviction, followers
pelted stones and broke barricades following which police lobbed tear gas
shells and fired in the air.
Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh
Immediately after the verdict, many Dera followers
including large number of women started crying.
Some followers went berserk and also allegedly
damaged OB vans of a private TV channel.
Police lobbed tear gas shells, used water canons and
batons in an attempt to bring the situation under control. The Dera followers pelted stones and broke security
cordon.
The court delivered its verdict in the case against
the 50-year-old Dera chief after 14 long years and amid unprecedented security
as thousands of Dera followers gathered in Panchkula ahead of the judgment.
In fact, just two hours before the verdict, the
Punjab and Haryana high court told the Haryana government it can go ahead and
use force when required and file FIRs against any Gurmeet Ram Rahim follower
breaking the law or making provocative statements.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh
Haryana's chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on
Friday his government was ready to deal with any fallout from the verdict.
"Whatever the verdict, will implement it. Ready
to deal with any circumstances, security arrangements are in place, I appeal
for peace and calm," said Khattar.
The charges against Gurmeet Ram Rahim date back to
2002, when a Dera sadhvi wrote an anonymous letter to then Prime Minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee saying she was raped by the Dera chief. In the letter, the
sadhvi also accused Gurmeet Ram Rahim of raping several other female followers
inside the sprawling Dera campus on the outskirts of Sirsa in the state of
Haryana.
In 2002, the Punjab and Haryana high court took suo motu cognizance - action of
its own accord - of the sadhvi's letter to then PM Vajpayee, and directed the
CBI to register a sexual exploitation case against the Dera chief in 2002. The
case was then handed over to the CBI.
The investigating agency questioned 18 sadhvis and
two of them levelled allegations of rape against the spiritual leader.
Their statements are part of the CBI chargesheet
which was filed on July 30, 2007, in the CBI special court.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh In MSG: The Messenger Movie
One of the sadhvis said in her statement, that when
she entered the Dera chief's sprawling chamber, the doors automatically closed
and she found him watching a pornographic movie on a big screen. The CBI is
said to be banking heavily on this statement as only a select few have access
to that chamber.
The 50-year-old Gurmeet Ram Rahim left the
sect-headquarters at Sirsa, about 260km from Chandigarh, at about 9am, in a
huge convoy. The Haryana director general of police (DGP) was asked if there
were 200-plus vehicles in the Dera chief's convoy. He didn't confirm that
number but did say that the convoy size would be cut en route to Panchkula.
"Only a couple
of cars which include escort vehicles will be allowed," said BS Sandhu,
the Haryana DGP.
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