The Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four others in the 2002 murder case of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh. The bench, comprising Justices Sureshwar Thakur and Lalit Batra, pronounced the order on Tuesday.
In July 2002, a gunman shot and killed Ranjit Singh, a devoted follower and manager at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa, Haryana. Suspicions that he was involved in disseminating an anonymous letter accusing Ram Rahim of sexually abusing his followers (sadhvis) led to his suspected murder. In November 2003, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered a CBI investigation into the murder, which resulted in the accused’s arrest and prosecution.
As the case developed and further grave charges against Ram Rahim surfaced, it attracted a lot of attention. He was found guilty in August 2017 of raping two disciples, and he was sentenced to 20 years in jail. His supporters’ violent rallies in response to this conviction caused significant property damage and forty-one fatalities in Delhi and Haryana.
Furthermore, in 2019, Ram Rahim was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, who had written on charges of sexual exploitation at the Dera. Despite these convictions, he has been given parole several times, prompting criticism of the Haryana government’s perceived political bias.
The acquittal in the Ranjit Singh murder case is a significant development in Ram Rahim’s legal challenges. However, he will remain imprisoned due to previous convictions for rape and murder of Chhatrapati. His multiple paroles and political participation while his incarceration have sparked criticism and controversy, highlighting the complicated interplay between his influence and judicial outcomes.
