Chandigarh, August 24: A Special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Panchkula will deliver its verdict on the rape case against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on Friday, August 25. Thousands of Dera followers, who call themselves ‘premis’ have gathered in Panchkula ahead of the verdict, keeping the states of Punjab and Haryana on the edge. The number of followers in Panchkula is expected to swell to lakhs during the day. Reports say that the followers have also stocked up on arms and ammunition, even as the followers have refuted such claims saying they have gathered only to hear the verdict and will go back after it.
The case against Gurmeet Ram Rahim
The rape case against the Dera chief dates back to 2002. Two women followers of Ram Rahim sent anonymous letters to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, accusing the Dera chief of raping them and other sadhvis in his sprawling Dera campus. The sadhvis also accused Ram Rahim of threatening them and warning them against speaking out.
Following the letter, a case was registered by the CBI against the self-styled godman after allegations of sexual exploitation of the sadhvis. During the investigation, the CBI questioned the sadhvis who had left the Dera. The sadhvis reportedly made shocking allegations against Ram Rahim and two of them accused him of having raped them on account of ‘purity’. The hearing in the case has been on since 2007 when the CBI filed a chargesheet against the Dera chief.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim also faces trial in another case involving the murder of a journalist, Ram Chander Chhatrapati and his follower Ranjit Singh in 2002.
