Dera chief's interim bail extended till October 20

Ambala, Oct 15: A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court today extended the interim bail of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Baba Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh, who is accused of sexual assault and murder, till October 20.

Singh"s interim bail was coming to an end today. On October 4, the court had extended the interim bail of Singh till October 15 in two cases of murder and one of rape.

The Dera chief was granted interim bail on surety of three bonds of Rupees five lakh each. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed Singh to appear before the trial court for grant of regular bail.

He was also asked to approach the district and sessions court in Ambala to seek regular bail. The court today refused Singh"s plea for regular bail on grounds that the Dera chief was not present at the hearing today.

“The application is for a regular bail, so Baba should have been present today. But because it is written in the High Court order that Baba should not be arrested therefore the court has put the hearing to October 20," Umrish Gandhi, a CBI advocate said.

Defence lawyer, however, stated that Singh was not needed be present.

“The order of the High Court is very clear, it is not necessary for him to be present during the hearing of this bail application. As and when required the court will call him. The judge is satisfied that it wasn't necessary for him to come," said, Jasmair Chand, Defence counsel.

The CBI has transferred all the three cases against the Dera chief to a session court.

The CBI had filed a chargesheet on July 31, accusing him of murdering sect manager, Ranjit Singh, and a Sirsa-based journalist, Ram Chander Chatterpatti, and for the alleged rape of a Sadhavi.

Two accused, Inder Sain and Avtar Singh were discharged in the Chatterpatti murder case on a defence plea that the duo had not been named as accused by the CBI in the chargesheet.

Three others -- Kishan Lal, Kuldip Singh and Nirmal Singh have been facing charges of conspiracy and murder. Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh has been charged under Section 120-B (Conspiracy) in connection with the case relating to the murder of Ranjit Singh.

The other accused are Kishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, Sabdil, Avtar Singh and Inder Singh, booked under Section 302 (Murder). Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh is the lone accused under Section 376 (Rape) in connection with the alleged rape of a Sadhavi.

A case was also registered against him following a complaint by a Bathinda resident, who accused Ram Raheem Singh of hurting the religious sentiments of Sikhs by donning the attire of the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh.

ANI
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