Ranjit Singh murder case: Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, 4 others sentenced to life imprisonment

Chandigarh, Oct 18: A Special CBI court in Panchkula on Monday awarded life imprisonment to all the accused, including Dera Sacha Sauda's Gurmeet Ram Rahim and four others in connection to dera manager, Ranjit Singh's murder case. A fine of Rs 31 Lakhs levied on Ram Rahim and Rs 50,000 on the remaining accused.

On Friday, the special court had convicted them in the murder case of a dera manager, Ranjit Singh.

The other convicted for the crime are Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, Avtar Singh and Sabdil.

Arguments on the quantum of sentence were completed by the CBI and a defence counsel also concluded arguments.

The counsel for some convicts sought time, saying they want to go through the things put up by the prosecution side.

On their request, the court deferred the matter till October 18, CBI special prosecutor H P S Verma told reporters outside the court in Panchkula.

Tight security arrangements had been put in place in and around the courts complex.

Police had also tightened security in Panchkula and Sirsa, where the sect is headquartered, in anticipation that sentence could be pronounced by the court on Tuesday.

The dera chief, who is currently lodged in Rohtak''s Sunaria jail since his conviction in 2017 for raping his two disciples, appeared through video-conferencing, the other four were present in the court.

One more accused in the murder case had passed away a year ago.

Former dera manager Ranjit Singh, who was also a follower of the sect, was shot dead in 2002.

He was murdered for his suspected role in the circulation of an anonymous letter, which narrated how women were being sexually exploited by the dera head.

According to the CBI charge sheet, the cera chief believed that Ranjit Singh was behind the circulation of the anonymous letter and hatched a conspiracy to kill him.

In 2017, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was sentenced to 20-year imprisonment for raping his two disciples.

Over two years ago, he was also awarded life imprisonment for the murder of a journalist, Ram Chander Chhatrapati.