Dera chief Ram Rahim denied bail

Panchkula, May 01: Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of the controversial Dera Sacha Sauda chief, serving a 20-year jail term each in two rape cases.

Gurmeet had sought a month's reprieve on grounds that his foster daughter Guransh, originally an orphan, is getting married on May 10.

The 52-year old sect chief is serving a 20-year jail term for rape of two of his disciples within the sect premises in Sirsa in Haryana.

The CBI court in Panchkula had sentenced him to life imprisonment in January this year for the murder of the journalist that took place in 2002. The life term in jail for the sect chief will begin only after completion of his 20-years of jail term in the rape case.

However, the political wing of the dera is yet to make an announcement as to which party it would be support ing in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The polling will be held in Haryana on May 12 and in Punjab on May 19.