The Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the 2002 murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. This ruling comes over seven years after a special CBI court found him guilty and sentenced him to life in prison. However, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh will stay in jail since he is already serving a 20-year sentence for two rape cases.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh found in Journalist Murder Case
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s lawyer, Jitender Khurana, confirmed the latest development. He stated that the High Court overturned the conviction in the murder case, saying, “The court has acquitted him in the murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.”
Singh and three others, Kuldeep Singh, Nirmal Singh, and Krishan Lal convicted by a special CBI court in 2019 for the murder of Ram Chander Chhatrapati, who was based in Sirsa. They received a life sentence convicted under Sections 302 (murder) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Journalist shot outside his house, who publish Poora sach newspaper
Chhatrapati, who published the newspaper Poora Sach shot outside his house in Sirsa, Haryana, in October 2002. He later died from his injuries. The attack followed the publication of an anonymous letter that accused the Dera Sacha Sauda leadership of sexually exploiting female followers at its headquarters.
In 2003, Chhatrapati’s family went to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, asking for the case to transferred to the CBI. The investigation later taken over by the CBI, which filed the chargesheet in July 2007.
Despite his acquittal in the murder case, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh continues to serve a 20-year jail sentence after convicted in 2017 for raping two of his disciples. Following that conviction, he has remained in Sunaria jail in Rohtak, Haryana.
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