Punjab-Haryana HC dismisses plea alleging replacement of Dera chief with ‘dummy’

The petitioners claimed that Ram Rahim, who was out on parole, was replaced with a dummy person in a bid to usurp his property.

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed a petition filed by the petitioners, including one Ashok Kumar, who claimed themselves to be followers of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, seeking directions to the Haryana government to “verify the authenticity” of Dera Sacha Sauda chief, who is out on a parole, as the petitioners alleged that the State government, in collusion with some persons, had replaced him with a “dummy person”.

It may be recalled that the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in October 2021 sentenced Ram Rahim and four others to life imprisonment in the 2002 murder of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh. He was released on one-month parole from the Sunaria jail of Rohtak in Haryana in June.

It may be noted that the petitioners alleged in the petition that after Ram Rahim’s arrest, they noticed various changes in his figure and personality. They also alleged that “through some unconfirmed sources, petitioners came to know that (the) original Dera chief was abducted and put in Udaipur of Rajasthan and now they are planning to replace this dummy person with (the) original one in jail.” During the hearing, the judge said, "Ram Rahim has been given adequate security. It is not possible for him to be abducted." The judge reprimanded the Dera supporters and their advocate and dismissed their plea.