Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's conviction: Dera chief lodged in Rohtak district jail

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted on Friday in a 2002 rape case by a CBI court in Panchkula. The self-styled godman was lodged in the Rohtak district prison in Sunaria after his conviction.

“Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been lodged in a jail in Sunaria (in Rohtak),” Rohtak Deputy Commissioner Atul Kumar said. Tight security arrangements were put in place around the jail. Judge Jagdeep Singh of the CBI special court at Panchkula convicted the Dera chief and said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on August 28, according to CBI counsel H P S Verma.

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Immediately after his conviction, followers of the Sirsa-based Dera went on rampage and clashed with security personnel leaving at least 30 dead and over 250 injured.While 28 people were killed in Panchkula, the epicentre of the violence, two died in Sirsa, the headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda.

“Tight security arrangements have been put in place in Rohtak,” the DC said. Meanwhile, CBI counsel Verma said that Gurmeet Ram Rahim was accompanied by his daughter when he reached the courtroom in Panchkula after travelling from the sect headquarters at Sirsa.

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At the time of court pronouncing him guilty in the 2002 case, the sect chief appeared “calm and composed”, the CBI counsel said. The 50-year-old Dera head had earlier appealed to his followers to maintain peace.Verma said that the Dera head had been found guilty under Section 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.