Dera chief gets life for murder of journalist

| | Chandigarh
  • 1

Dera chief gets life for murder of journalist

Friday, 18 January 2019 | PNS | Chandigarh

A special CBI court in Panchkula on Thursday awarded life imprisonment to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim and three others in the murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. Along with Ram Rahim, his close aide Dera manager Krishan Lal and carpenters at Dera -Nirmal Singh and Kuldeep Singh -have been awarded life imprisonment by the CBI court.

Special CBI Judge Jagdeep Singh also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on all the four accused.

The same judge had earlier convicted 51-year-old Dera head Ram Rahim in the rape case of two female disciples on August 25, 2017 and sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.

Sirsa-based Dera chief Ram Rahim is already lodged in Rohtak’s Sunaria jail after his conviction in 2017 in the rape case had appeared before the court through video conferencing. Other three convicts, Kuldeep Singh, Nirmal Singh and Krishan Lal were present in the court through video conferencing from Ambala jail.

CBI counsel HPS Verma, while talking to the mediapersons said that Ram Rahim will have to remain in prison for life following Thursday’s judgment. All four convicts have been sentenced to life imprisonment,” Verma said.

Ram Rahim and the three others were convicted by the CBI court on January 11. All the four were convicted under Section 302 (murder) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. Nirmal Singh and Krishan Lal were also convicted under the Arms Act.

“This is the triumph of truth, I feel relieved today. The prosecution had demanded capital punishment but we are satisfied with the punishment,” said journalist Ramchandra Chhatarpati’s son Anshul on court pronouncing the quantum of sentence on Thursday.

“We had to fight a lot to get him (Ram Rahim) punished,” he added.

The judgment has come over 16 years after the murder of the journalist.

Earlier, arguments of lawyers of the CBI, Chhatrapati’s family and the sect chief were held for more than two hours. The sentencing came over two hours after that. The counsel for Ram Rahim had pleaded for a lesser sentence, citing the social work being done by the sect.

Sirsa-based journalist Chhatrapati was shot at in October 2002 after a newspaper owned by him, had published an anonymous letter narrating how women were being sexually exploited by the sect head at the Dera headquarters.

The publication of the letter and other stories carried by Chhatrapati, which were critical of the activities of the sect and its chief, had upset Ram Rahim who asked his close aides to eliminate the journalist. Chhatrapati was shot at outside his house and had later succumbed to his injuries.

A case was registered in 2003 by Haryana Police. But, Chhatrapati’s family had later approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2003, seeking the transfer of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

According to the CBI chargesheet filed in the murder case, Dera manager Krishan Lal had given his licenced revolver and a walkie-talkie to two shooters in the presence of Ram Rahim.

Khatta Singh, the former driver of Dera chief who was a key witness in the murder case had told the court that it was Dera chief who had ordered Chhatrapati’s killing in front of him. Meanwhile, security was tightened in parts of Haryana and Punjab ahead of the sentencing. The CBI court complex in Panchkula’s Sector 1, adjoining Chandigarh, was a virtual fortress on Thursday with strict checking of all people and vehicles coming to the area.

To avert the violence that rocked Panchkula and Sirsa towns in Haryana following Ram Rahim’s conviction for rape in August 2017, anti-riot police was present in strength outside the court complex. Panchkula Administration had imposed Section 144 CrPC in the area to prevent the assembly of five or more people.

The area around the Sunaria Jail near Rohtak, where Ram Rahim is lodged, was also completely sealed by security personnel while security was also tightened in Haryana’s Sirsa town, where the sect’s headquarters is located.

Punjab Police had also taken preventive security measures in the neighbouring State as the sect has lakhs of followers in Bathinda, Mansa, Moga and Sangrur.

Notably, thousands of Dera chief followers, who had gathered at Panchkula went on a rampage after Ram Rahim was convicted on August 25, 2017 in the rape case. More than 40 people were killed, over 260 were wounded and property worth crores of rupees was damaged within few hours of his conviction in Panchkula.

 

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