Thirty people were killed as security forces fired at rampaging mobs in Panchkula in Haryana on Friday after a court held Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty of rape and sexual exploitation, police and hospital sources said.
A CBI special court on Friday held controversial Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty of raping and sexually exploiting two female disciples.
The sect chief was taken into custody following his conviction by trial court judge Jagdeep Singh. Soldiers who had been deployed earlier immediately rushed into the court here and took charge of the complex.
The verdict was announced amid unprecedented security. The sentence will be pronounced by the court on Monday.
Hamare saath anyay hua hai, hum iski appeal karenge. Hamare saath wahi hua hai jo itihaas mein guruon ke saath hua: Dera Sacha Sauda Spox
— ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017
The sect chief was present in the court when the judgment was read out in Panchkula town in Haryana, adjoining Chandigarh.
Court sources said the self-styled godman stood inside the court with his hands folded in prayer and his eyes closed when the judge started reading the verdict.
Outside the court, tens of thousands of supporters were massed. So were thousands of security personnel.
Once the verdict was given, Ram Rahim Singh was examined by doctors. Informed sources he would be taken to the military complex at Chandi Mandir in Panchkula.
The rape victims, despite threats and pressures all along, stood their ground on rape and sexual harassment allegations during the nearly 15-year-long hearing of the matter in court.
Panchkula is completely peaceful at the moment, flag marches conducted: DGP Haryana, BS Sandhu #RamRahimSingh pic.twitter.com/MJuoZW1694
— ANI (@ANI) August 25, 2017
A pall of gloom descended among the thousands of followers as the verdict became known. In no time, some of them began attacking media personnel.
CURFEW IN TOWNS IN 10 PUNJAB DISTRICTS, THREE TOWNS IN HARYANA
Curfew was imposed in towns in 10 Punjab districts and in three Haryana towns, including Panchkula and Sirsa, after supporters of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim went on a rampage after a court held him guilty of rape.
The towns where curfew has been clamped include Mansa, Bathinda, Patiala, Fazilka, Ferozepore, Faridkot, Malout, Sangrur and Barnala.
Haryana's Panchkula, adjoining Chandigarh, where a CBI court gave a guilty ruling against the Dera chief, resembled a war zone. Besides Panchkula, curfew was imposed in Sirsa, headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda where one person died in the violence, and Kaithal towns.
Security has been beefed up in Himachal Pradesh's Baddi and Parwanoo towns, which share a border with Haryana.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar appealed to the people to maintain calm.
"The state had taken all steps to prevent any untoward incident and would not allow the law and order situation to deteriorate at any cost," an official statement quoting Amarinder Singh said.
He said soldiers did a flag march in Zirakpur and Banur towns, located close to Panchkula.
The Chief Minister spoke to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to apprise him of the situation in Punjab and said he was keeping a close watch on the developments. He also spoke to Union Defence Minister Arun Jaitley.
Haryana Chief Minister Khattar said some anti-social elements mingled with the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda after the verdict and resorted to violence.
"No one is above the law and strict action will be taken against anyone who tries to take the law into his hands," he said in a statement.
Attempts were made to burn two railways stations in Punjab's Malout and Mansa towns by agitated followers of the self-styled godman. An electricity office in Sangrur town was set on fire.
Reports said miscreants damaged and set on fire two Income Tax department vehicles in Mansa town.
In Sangrur district, miscreants set a tehsil office in Lehragaga town on fire. In Lambi town in Muktsar district, masked men lobbed petrol bombs on a telephone exchange and fired in the air to trigger panic.
After the verdict, traders in Haryana downed their shop shutters in most towns as a precautionary measure.
In Panipat town, four vehicles were set on fire, while in Sirsa two incidents of arson were reported.
In Panchkula town where the CBI court is located, the sect followers set afire and damaged more than 100 vehicles after the court verdict.
Journalists were assaulted by the Dera followers in Panchkula and Sirsa towns.
The sect chief was taken into custody following his conviction in a rape case by trial court judge Jagdeep Singh. The sentencing is set for Monday.
VERDICT AGAINST DERA HEAD HAS REAFFIRMED PEOPLE’S FAITH IN JUDICIARY, GOD: VICTIM’S KIN
The verdict against Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case has reaffirmed the common man’s faith not only in the judiciary but also God, said family members of one of the rape victims based in Haryana.
The victim is also related to a man shot dead in 2002, in which case too the dera head is facing trial in the same Panchkula CBI court that held him guilty in the rape case on Friday.
“Bhagwan ke ghar mein der hai, andher nahi hai (God may make you wait, but never leaves you in the dark),” said the victims’ relative, who was one of the kin who shouldered the struggle for 15 years.
As the family members began to gather at the village house, security cover was increased since Thursday . The close family members were taken to an unknown “safe place”.
‘DEEPLY DISTRESSING’: MODI COMMENTS ON VIOLENCE FOLLOWING RAM RAHIM CONVICTION
PM Narendra Modi said on Friday he “strongly condemns” the violence that erupted in Haryana and Punjab after a court convicted self-styled “godman” Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of raping two women.
“The instances of violence today are deeply distressing. I strongly condemn the violence & urge everyone to maintain peace,” said Modi in a tweet.
Modi said he had “reviewed the situation” with the National Security Advisor and the Home Secretary after Singh’s supporters rampaged in response to the court order and attacked railway stations, petrol stations and television vans in towns across Punjab and Haryana.
He asked officials to “work round the clock to restore normalcy and provide all possible assistance that is required”.
Modi’s statement hours after Singh was convicted and criticism that the BJP government in Haryana had failed to prevent violence.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he “strongly condemns” the violence that erupted in Haryana and Punjab after a court convicted self-styled “godman” Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of raping two women.
JOURNALIST WHO ‘EXPOSED RAPES IN DERA’ WAS KILLED
Journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, who had exposed the alleged rape of ‘Sadhvis’ (female followers) at the Dera 15 years ago were delivered justice too
Chhatrapati was shot from point-blank range at his residence on October 24, 2002, months after the paper published an anonymous letter narrating how women finding solace in the Dera as sadhvis were sexually harassed and raped by the Dera chief.
His son Anshul has been fighting the legal battle that has now reached final arguments in the same CBI court at Panchkula that will declare its verdict in the rape case on August 25.
“I was 21 then, and did not know where to go for justice after the police did not include the name of the Dera chief in the FIR,” said Anshul, who finally petitioned the Punjab and Haryana high court for a CBI inquiry in January 2003.
Another murder case against the Dera chief in the same court is for the killing of Ranjit Singh, a former Dera member, in July 2002 as he had highlighted alleged wrongdoings inside the Dera headquarters at Sirsa, including sexual exploitation of female devotees by some people in the sect’s management.
The Chhatrapati case so far
• Oct 2002: Ram Chander Chhatrapati shot dead allegedly by Dera men
• Jan 2003: Key witness Anshul, his son, petitions HC for CBI probe
• Nov 2003: HC orders CBI probe
• July 2007: CBI files chargesheet against the Dera chief
• November 2014: Conclusion of evidence presentation
MEET JAGDEEP SINGH, THE JUDGE WHO CONVICTED DERA CHIEF RAM RAHIM OF RAPE
A very competent, tough and upright judge with a no-nonsense attitude. That is how Jagdeep Singh is described by his colleagues in the legal fraternity.
Singh joined the Haryana judicial services in 2012 and was posted at Sonepat. The CBI court posting, which is generally given after a lot of checks by the high court administration, is his second posting.
Prior to joining the judicial service, he was a Punjab and Haryana high court lawyer. “Singh likes keeping a low profile and is a man of few words. But all those who know him vouch for his competence and integrity,” said a lawyer who has practiced with him. Singh, who hails from Haryana, took up both civil and criminal cases between 2000 and 2012.
Jagdeep hit the headlines in September 2016, when on his way from Hisar to Panchkula, he played a Good Samaritan and rushed four people, who were seriously injured in a road accident, to a hospital in Jind district.
PUNJABI TV REPORTER INJURED, CAMERAMAN MISSING IN SIRSA
Rakesh Kumar, a reporter with PTC News, said he and his video journalist Shipendar Happy were attacked near the Dera headquarters in Sirsa when they went there to report after Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s conviction in a rape case.
“They thrashed us brutally leaving me with a fracture in my right hand. My cameraman Happy is still missing. They also torched our vehicle and equipment,” Rakesh told.
He said they wanted to talk to Dera followers on the court verdict but they were attacked instead.
“They started thrashing us and I could escape somehow. But Happy is still missing. I have sought police help to trace him,” he said.
RAM RAHIM’S EMPIRE: COSMETICS, SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS, TOFFEES, FILMS AND MORE
