High Court Acquits Dera Chief Ram Rahim In Murder Case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the murder case of his former manager Ranjit Singh. The Sirsa-headquartered sect chief, who is also serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples, is currently lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak, Haryana. "The high court has acquitted him in the Ranjit Singh murder case," Dera chief's lawyer Jitender Khurana said.

In 2021, a special CBI court sentenced Ram Rahim and four others to life imprisonment in the 19-year-old murder case of Ranjit Singh, a former manager of the Dera. Singh, who was also a follower of the sect, was shot dead on July 10, 2002, at Khanpur Kolian village in Haryana's Kurukshetra. He was murdered for his suspected role in the circulation of an anonymous letter, which narrated how women were being sexually exploited by the sect head at the Dera headquarters. After his conviction by the CBI court in Panchkula, the sect chief appealed to the High Court.

In 2019, a CBI court in Panchkula found the self-proclaimed godman guilty in two high-profile murder cases, those of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and former Dera manager Ranjit Singh.

On October 18, 2021, the court handed down life sentences to Ram Rahim and four associates for Chhatrapati's murder, also imposing a hefty fine of Rs 31 lakh on the Dera chief.

Despite challenging all his convictions at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Ram Rahim's appeal regarding the journalist's murder remains unresolved.

Currently, Ram Rahim is serving a 20-year sentence for raping two of his disciples, confined in Rohtak's Sunaria jail.