Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda, was found guilty on Friday of murdering his follower Ranjit Singh in 2002. Four other people were convicted in the case by a special CBI court in Panchkula. On October 12, it will announce the sentence’s length.
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Dr Sushil Kumar Garg, a special CBI Judge in Panchkula, found Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Jasbir Singh, Sabdil Singh, Krishan Lal, and Inder Sain guilty of murder and criminal conspiracy. Under the Arms Act, Krishan Lal, Inder Sain, and Jasbir Singh have all been found guilty. The court order has yet to be made public in its entirety.
According to the CBI chargesheet, the Dera leader accused Ranjit Singh of distributing an anonymous letter accusing the Dera chief of sexually assaulting women followers (sadhvis) inside the Dera. Singh was also the manager of the Dera Sacha Sauda in Sirsa (Haryana).
The same letter was featured in a news article by Ram Chander Chhatrapati, a journalist stationed in Sirsa. Chhatrapati was assassinated as well. The Dera head was also recently found guilty in the murder of Chhatrapati.
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Ranjit Singh was assassinated on July 10, 2002, in Kurukshetra, Haryana, within the jurisdiction of Thanesar police station. At Thanesar police station, a FIR was filed on allegations of murder and criminal conspiracy. The matter was referred to the CBI by the High Court on November 10, 2003.
