He is already serving a 20-year sentence for raping two of his followers.
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been given life imprisonment by a court in Haryana's Panchkula for his role in the 2002 murder of journalist Ramchandra Chhatrapati. The cult leader had been convicted by a special CBI court on January 11 along with three accomplices.
Special CBI judge Jagdeep Singh pronounced the sentence over videoconferencing on the request of the Haryana government. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been incarcerated at the Sunaria Jail in Rohtak since August 2017. He is serving a 20-year sentence for raping two of his followers. The other three men sentenced on Thursday are lodged at Ambala jail.
The special court handed the life imprisonment sentence to Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Dera manager Krishan Lal and Dera carpenters Kuldeep Singh and Nirmal Singh for the murder of Sirsa-based journalist Chhatrapati, who was the editor of a newspaper called Poora Sach. The court lso ordered them to pay fines of Rs 50,000 each.
The court noted that Gurmeet Ram Rahim is already serving his 20-year sentence, and said his life imprisonment would begin when that sentence ends.
Anshul Chhatrapati, son of the murdered journalist, welcomed the sentence. "This is the triumph of truth. I feel relieved today. The prosecution had asked for capital punishment, but we are satisfied with the sentence given by the court," he told reporters outside the court. Lekhraj, a friend of Ramachandra Chhatrapati, hailed the life sentence as a victory for justice and journalism.
Security had been ramped up in the Panchkula and Rohtak districts of Haryana to contain any backlash from Dera followers. When Ram Rahim was convicted in August 2017, his followers had gone on a rampage.
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC had also been imposed in Panchkula and heavy security been provided to the court complex. Police had also put in place a two-tier security cover had been placed around the Sunaria Jail, with a two-kilometre radius declared a no-go zone.
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 "This is te second conviction for Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.")
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