The roads leading to the court remained out of bounds for general public and heavy barricades were in place to prevent a redux of August 20, 2017 when the disgraced godman was convicted for raping two of his followers.
It was a day that dragged in dogged anticipation. One that would have once again exemplified triumph of truth over evil. As the special CBI court announced life imprisonment to jailed godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on Thursday, in the murder case of a journalist, the hours leading up to the pronouncement spelt several hours of nail-biting moments, followed by thunderous applause.
Anticipating a stringent punishment for killing sits-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati by the CBI court, hordes of journalists, replete with the paraphernalia of OB vans had started gathering outside the court from early morning. The complex on the other hand, was a fortress with 14 nakas in place and over 1000 cops including Rapid Action Force stood guard. The entire Panchkula police machinery had trained its attention on the court with senior officers including Deputy Commissioner of Police Kamaldeep Goyal, four deputy superintendents of Police being personally present at the spot and taking stock of the security arrangements. The roads leading to the court remained out of bounds for the general public and heavy barricades were in place to prevent a redux of August 20, 2017, when the disgraced godman was convicted for raping two of his followers. His disciples ran amok in the city, destroying life and property while the district police was caught napping, drawing flak from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The police understandably remained on high alert. We are on high alert for any eventuality. Security has been heightened specially on the district border. We are not taking any chance.”
As journalists whiled away time from early morning, waiting for the orders to be pronounced, the court convened at 2. The four hours till special judge Jagdeep Singh announced the orders, cops warded off people visiting courts as the district bar association had suspended work as pra preemptive security measure. Groundnuts, popcorns, tea and sun provided company to the waiting media on a chilly Thursday as the court continued to be held way beyond working hours. It was at six in the evening when the news came out that the truth has finally emerged victorious.
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