On Thursday, a Special CBI court sentenced Dera Sachcha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim and three others to life imprisonment in connection with the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatarpati. In addition to the imprisonment, the court has imposed a fine of Rs. 50,000 each. Since 2002, the former Dera chief has been named in several cases dealing with rape, murder, blasphemy and forced castration.
In 2002, an anonymous letter to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Punjab and Haryana HC chief justice alleged that the sect had sexually exploited two “sadhvis” and a case of sexual exploitation was registered against Gurmeet Ram Rahim. The matter was handed over to the CBI and a chargesheet was file five years later in 2007.
Following a decade long delay the special CBI court held Gurmeet Ram Rahim guilty of rape and criminal intimidation in August 2017.