Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh sentenced to 20 yrs jail: Happy, court proved it today, says son of journalist who was killed by Dera followers

“I welcome the quantum of sentence to Dera chief by the court. The court has unmasked the fraud seer. My father’s struggle against him has become fruitful today,” he added.

The Dera chief was sentenced today to 20 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of raping two women followers. The sentence was passed by a special CBI judge, Jagdeep Singh, in a makeshift court in the Sunaria jail where the 50-year-old godman had been lodged since his conviction on Friday.

Journalist Ram Chander Chhatarpati, was murdered by Dera followers in 2002 for his reports relating to the allegations that the Dera head was sexually exploiting women in his ashram. Chattarparti’s case is being heard by the same CBI court in Panchkula and the next hearing on the case has been fixed for September 16.

The Dera chief is facing another murder case apart from Chhatarpati’s. The second murder relates to murder of a Dera follower Ranjeet Singh. In both the cases, the Dera chief was booked on charges of conspiracy.

According to media reports, after the sentence was announced, Ram Rahim Singh broke down and asked for mercy with folded hands. Later, he refused to leave the court room, in the jail library.

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