Punjab and Haryana High Court Acquits Dera Sacha Sauda Chief in 2002 Ranjit Singh Murder Case
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday, May 28, ruled in favor of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four others, acquitting them in the 2002 Ranjit Singh murder case. Ranjit Singh, a former manager of the Dera, was shot dead in July 2002, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched an investigation. The CBI court had convicted Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four others in the murder of Ranjit Singh in October 2021. However, the High Court has now overturned that conviction, acquitting all the accused.
The CBI had alleged that Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh blamed Ranjit Singh for the circulation of a letter that narrated the details of sexual exploitation of his disciples inside the Dera. The letter mentioned that the Dera chief was sexually assaulting his women followers. Aggrieved by it, Ram Rahim conspired with the other accused to murder Ranjit Singh.
The High Court’s order on the appeals of the convicted individuals was announced by a division bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Lalit Batra. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is currently serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples. He is currently lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak, Haryana.
The Dera Sacha Sauda chief and three others were also convicted in 2019 for the murder of a journalist more than 16 years ago.
