Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim acquitted in journalist murder case | India News
Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday acquitted the jail Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim In the 2002 murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, a CBI overturned the life sentence awarded by the court and dealt a blow to the investigating agency.Gurmeet is in Rohtak’s Sunaria Jail, serving a 20-year sentence since August 2017 after being convicted of raping two female devotees. He has served more than eight years in prison in that case.He faces a separate CBI case for allegedly deporting some Dera followers. The trial is going on in a court in Panchkula. Former Dera manager Ranjit Singh was acquitted by the High Court in the murder case. On Saturday, the High Court allowed the Dera chief’s appeal against his conviction in the Chhatrapati murder case, upholding the life sentence of three co-accused. Anshul, the son of the slain journalist, said the family is planning to challenge the acquittal verdict in the Supreme Court. Chhatrapati was the editor of the evening newspaper ‘Pura Sach’.
He published reports alleging sexual exploitation of women disciples in the Dera Sacha Sauda. The prosecution alleged that he was killed in retaliation for the coverage.Dera chief counsel alleges CBI torture and retaliationA special CBI court in 2019 sentenced the Dera chief and three others to life imprisonment with a fine of Rs 50,000 each. Gurmeet challenged the conviction in the High Court, saying he was wrongly accused.“Krishan Lal was tortured by the CBI. Then the Dera Pradhan’s name was included as an accused in retaliation,” his lawyer said.The lawyers also questioned the testimony of key witness Khatta Singh, saying that the claim that a conspiracy was hatched in his presence and that no one was divulged “has been proved false by the admission of the IO, M Narayanan, in his cross-examination”. The defendant also argued that the prosecution had failed to show that Gurmeet had any allegation against the journalist. “The investigating agency has failed to establish even an iota of evidence that the appellant ever read the said newspaper,” counsel said, adding that the evening paper had already reproduced the reports published by the morning newspaper.
