Panchkula (Haryana): A special CBI court in Haryana's Panchkula on Monday sentenced Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four others to life imprisonment for murder of sect manager Ranjit Singh. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 31 lakh on Ram Rahim and Rs 50,000 on the remaining accused.
The court, on October 8, had convicted Ram Rahim and four others -- Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, Avtar Singh and Sabdil -- in the murder case. However, on October 12, the court deferred the pronouncement of quantum of punishment to the convicts to today.
Ranjit Singh, who was also a follower of the sect, was shot dead in July 2002 after the Dera chief suspected he was behind the circulation of an anonymous letter sent to Punjab and Haryana High court chief justice, which narrated the sexual exploitation of women followers by the self-styled godman at the sect headquarters. Upon receiving the anonymous letter, the High Court had directed Sirsa district and sessions judge to probe the allegations in the letter.
Read: Panchkula special CBI court reserves order on Dera chief's sentencing
According to the CBI's chargesheet, Singh was murdered by sect activists at the behest of Ram Rahim "as he knew too much" about activities inside the sect headquarters.
The Dera chief is already serving a jail sentence after a court in August 2017 sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping two of his women followers. In January 2019, he was also convicted for murdering Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chandra Chhatrapati.
