The Punjab and Haryana High Court cleared Dera Sacha Sauda founder Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of all charges in the 2002 murder case of Ram Chander Chhatrapti, a journalist from Sirsa who had openly criticised the Dera chief in his newspaper. In 2019, a Special CBI court found him guilty and pronounced life imprisonment in the case.
Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Vikram Aggarwal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him relief in the long-running case.
In January 2019, a special CBI court in Panchkula found Ram Rahim guilty of plotting to kill Chhatrapati and sentenced him to life in jail. Along with Ram Rahim, three other convicts – Kuldeep Singh, Nirmal Singh and Krishan Lal – were also found guilty in the murder case and were awarded life imprisonment. The court had also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each.
In October 2002, Chhatrapati, who operated the Poora Sach newspaper in Sirsa, was shot outside his house. The attack took place after an anonymous letter was published in his newspaper that said women followers at the Dera headquarters were being sexually exploited.
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Who was Ram Chander Chhatrapati?
Ram Chander Chhatrapati ran publication, Poora Sach, from Sirsa. The publication ran stories about claims made against the Dera chief. His reportage got a lot of attention, and the case ultimately became one of the most carefully watched criminal cases involving Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
What did the High Court say?
The High Court has cleared Ram Rahim of murder charges more than seven years after the lower court found him guilty. The full verdict, which will explain why the conviction was overturned, is still being awaited.
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Journalist’s son on the court verdict
Anshul Chhatrapati, the son of the murdered journalist, expressed disappointment over the verdict and said that the family would appeal it to the Supreme Court. “We don’t have any other options.” He told The Indian Express, “Our legal battle will go on.”
He further claimed that “the main culprit is Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who has been acquitted… If he has been acquitted, it is, of course, a major setback for us.”
Singh is already serving a 20-year prison sentence for raping two of his followers in 2017. He is still in jail in Sunaria, Rohtak.
The High Court’s decision marks a big step ahead in the Chhatrapati murder case. It comes after the High Court let Ram Rahim and others go free in the 2002 murder case of former Dera Sacha Sauda manager Ranjit Singh. |
