An anonymous letter by a former sadhvi, who was too scared to come out in the open, ultimately sunk the ship of Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the mighty godman of Dera Sacha Sauda.
The CBI special court in Pankula today convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a case of rape of two women followers. Gurmeet Ram Rahim faces a jail term upto seven years. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on August 28.
The governments of Punjab and Haryana have made elaborate security arrangements to prevent any untoward happening.
The case relates to rape and sexual exploitation of a former sadhvi at Dera Sacha Sauda. It began with an anonymous letter in 2002. It was supposed to be written by a devotee of Ram Rahim who became a sadhvi at his Dera.
WHAT LETTER CLAIMED
Typed in Hindi, the anonymous letter claimed that Gurmeet Ram Rahim raped and sexually exploited women followers at the Dera. The complainant said that she was a graduate from Punjab and had been convinced by her parents to become a sadhvi at the Dera Sacha Sauda and become a disciple of Gurmeet Ram Rahim.
The woman said that two years after joining the Dera as sadhvi, she was called to Ram Rahim's 'gufa'- residence of the Dera chief. Inside the gufa, the woman found Ram Rahim watching television with a pistol by his side.
Ram Rahim, the woman claimed, raped her and threatened with serious consequences if she spoke about it anywhere. The woman alleged that Ram Rahim raped her repeatedly during her stay at Dera.
The complainant claimed that there were many other girls who had met the same fate. Ram Rahim, she said in the letter, claimed that no authority could take action against him.
HIGH COURT TAKES FIRST STEP
Shattered to core, the woman wrote a letter narrating her ordeal and sought intervention of the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. She addressed her letter to the Punjab and Haryana chief ministers, the Union Home Ministry, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
While others did not respond to her letter, the Punjab and Haryana High Court took cognisance of the letter and sought a report from the District and Sessions Judge of Sirsa. District judge MS Sular conducted an inquiry and submitted his report recommending probe by a central agency.
After getting the report from Sirsa, the Punjab and Haryana High Court referred the matter to the CBI for probe into the allegations leveled in the letter. The Chandigarh branch of CBI registered a case of rape under IPC Section 376, criminal intimidation under Section 506 and insult to the modesty of woman under 509.
On the other hand, the Dera managers suspected that Ranjeet Singh - a Kurukshetra-based member of the management committee - was behind the letter. They accused Ranjeet Singh of getting his sister, who was a sadhvi at Dera, write the anonymous letter. Two months after the letter became public, Ranjeet Singh was killed allegedly by Ram Rahim's supporters.
LOCATING THE COMPLAINANTS
As the letter was anonymous, it was a tough ask for the CBI to locate the complainant after filing an FIR in 2002. This was to be the first step in the probe against Gurmeet Ram Rahim.
The officials involved in the investigation first zeroed in on a former sadhvi based in Bathinda. But, the woman denied writing the letter and the claims made in it.
Before the CBI could locate the complainant, the Gurmeet Ram Rahim got a court order to stay investigation against him on the basis of an anonymous letter. The probe was stopped for better part of 2003 and 2004 when it was finally vacated.
Now, the CBI got involved in the case with more vigour and succeeded in locating and identifying the complainant. It turned out that there was more than one complainant. It took a while for the CBI to convince the sadhvis to depose in the court against Gurmeet Ram Rahim.
In 2007, the CBI filed its chargesheet in the special court at Ambala. The CBI special court was later shifted to Panchkula. The two sadhvis deposed before the court stating that Gurmeet Ram Rahim sexually exploited them.
In 2008, the CBI court ordered framing of charges of rape against Gurmeet Ram Rahim and the trial began which ended today with the pronouncement of judgment holding him guilty of rape.
(Source: India Today)
The CBI special court in Pankula today convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a case of rape of two women followers. Gurmeet Ram Rahim faces a jail term upto seven years. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on August 28.
The governments of Punjab and Haryana have made elaborate security arrangements to prevent any untoward happening.
The case relates to rape and sexual exploitation of a former sadhvi at Dera Sacha Sauda. It began with an anonymous letter in 2002. It was supposed to be written by a devotee of Ram Rahim who became a sadhvi at his Dera.
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| Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh |
WHAT LETTER CLAIMED
Typed in Hindi, the anonymous letter claimed that Gurmeet Ram Rahim raped and sexually exploited women followers at the Dera. The complainant said that she was a graduate from Punjab and had been convinced by her parents to become a sadhvi at the Dera Sacha Sauda and become a disciple of Gurmeet Ram Rahim.
The woman said that two years after joining the Dera as sadhvi, she was called to Ram Rahim's 'gufa'- residence of the Dera chief. Inside the gufa, the woman found Ram Rahim watching television with a pistol by his side.
Ram Rahim, the woman claimed, raped her and threatened with serious consequences if she spoke about it anywhere. The woman alleged that Ram Rahim raped her repeatedly during her stay at Dera.
The complainant claimed that there were many other girls who had met the same fate. Ram Rahim, she said in the letter, claimed that no authority could take action against him.
HIGH COURT TAKES FIRST STEP
Shattered to core, the woman wrote a letter narrating her ordeal and sought intervention of the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. She addressed her letter to the Punjab and Haryana chief ministers, the Union Home Ministry, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
While others did not respond to her letter, the Punjab and Haryana High Court took cognisance of the letter and sought a report from the District and Sessions Judge of Sirsa. District judge MS Sular conducted an inquiry and submitted his report recommending probe by a central agency.
After getting the report from Sirsa, the Punjab and Haryana High Court referred the matter to the CBI for probe into the allegations leveled in the letter. The Chandigarh branch of CBI registered a case of rape under IPC Section 376, criminal intimidation under Section 506 and insult to the modesty of woman under 509.
On the other hand, the Dera managers suspected that Ranjeet Singh - a Kurukshetra-based member of the management committee - was behind the letter. They accused Ranjeet Singh of getting his sister, who was a sadhvi at Dera, write the anonymous letter. Two months after the letter became public, Ranjeet Singh was killed allegedly by Ram Rahim's supporters.
LOCATING THE COMPLAINANTS
As the letter was anonymous, it was a tough ask for the CBI to locate the complainant after filing an FIR in 2002. This was to be the first step in the probe against Gurmeet Ram Rahim.
The officials involved in the investigation first zeroed in on a former sadhvi based in Bathinda. But, the woman denied writing the letter and the claims made in it.
Before the CBI could locate the complainant, the Gurmeet Ram Rahim got a court order to stay investigation against him on the basis of an anonymous letter. The probe was stopped for better part of 2003 and 2004 when it was finally vacated.
Now, the CBI got involved in the case with more vigour and succeeded in locating and identifying the complainant. It turned out that there was more than one complainant. It took a while for the CBI to convince the sadhvis to depose in the court against Gurmeet Ram Rahim.
In 2007, the CBI filed its chargesheet in the special court at Ambala. The CBI special court was later shifted to Panchkula. The two sadhvis deposed before the court stating that Gurmeet Ram Rahim sexually exploited them.
In 2008, the CBI court ordered framing of charges of rape against Gurmeet Ram Rahim and the trial began which ended today with the pronouncement of judgment holding him guilty of rape.
(Source: India Today)
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