CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court acquitted on Tuesday Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four others in a 22-year-old case involving the murder of his then manager Ranjit Singh, citing “a tainted and sketchy investigation” and presentation of evidence “unworthy of credence”.
A special CBI court in Panchkula had sentenced Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and his co-accused to life imprisonment in 2021 – his third conviction in as many cases.He has been in jail since Aug 2017, serving a separate 20-year term after being convicted of raping female disciples. On Jan 17, 2019, a CBI court sentenced him to life imprisonment for the Nov 2002 murder of Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, just over four months after his then manager Ranjit Singh’s killing.
The verdict by Justices Sureshwar Thakur and Lalit Batra highlights multiple lapses in the probe into the former Dera manager’s murder, including the revelation that the presumed murder weapon wasn’t used in the crime. It also points out that the vehicle supposedly used in the murder was never seized.
Justice Thakur said despite witnesses testifying that all four assailants were armed, CBI failed to confiscate any of these firearms. CBI also didn’t present a site plan of the place where the alleged conspiracy to kill Ranjit was hatched on June 16, 2002, he said.
The court observed that “the intellectual strength” of the investigating officer appeared to have “become staticised by the glare of media publicity”. Ram Rahim and his co-accused – Avtar Singh, Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh and Sabdil Singh – had appealed CBI court’s Oct 18, 2021 verdict sentencing them to life imprisonment. Another accused died during the trial in special judge Sushil Kumar Garg’s court.
The prosecution said Ranjit Singh had been killed for his suspected role in the circulation of an anonymous letter revealing sexual abuse of disciples by the Dera head. He was riding a bike after serving tea to his father in a field at Khanpur Kolian village of Kurukshetra when four assailants fatally shot him and fled.
A special CBI court in Panchkula had sentenced Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and his co-accused to life imprisonment in 2021 – his third conviction in as many cases.He has been in jail since Aug 2017, serving a separate 20-year term after being convicted of raping female disciples. On Jan 17, 2019, a CBI court sentenced him to life imprisonment for the Nov 2002 murder of Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, just over four months after his then manager Ranjit Singh’s killing.
The verdict by Justices Sureshwar Thakur and Lalit Batra highlights multiple lapses in the probe into the former Dera manager’s murder, including the revelation that the presumed murder weapon wasn’t used in the crime. It also points out that the vehicle supposedly used in the murder was never seized.
Justice Thakur said despite witnesses testifying that all four assailants were armed, CBI failed to confiscate any of these firearms. CBI also didn’t present a site plan of the place where the alleged conspiracy to kill Ranjit was hatched on June 16, 2002, he said.
The court observed that “the intellectual strength” of the investigating officer appeared to have “become staticised by the glare of media publicity”. Ram Rahim and his co-accused – Avtar Singh, Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh and Sabdil Singh – had appealed CBI court’s Oct 18, 2021 verdict sentencing them to life imprisonment. Another accused died during the trial in special judge Sushil Kumar Garg’s court.
The prosecution said Ranjit Singh had been killed for his suspected role in the circulation of an anonymous letter revealing sexual abuse of disciples by the Dera head. He was riding a bike after serving tea to his father in a field at Khanpur Kolian village of Kurukshetra when four assailants fatally shot him and fled.