News Analysis India

Tag: Dera Sacha Sauda

  • Dera follower’s killing: Main shooter arrested after brief encounter in Rajasthan

    By PTI

    JAIPUR/CHANDIGARH: A suspected shooter involved in the murder of a Dera Sacha Sauda follower was arrested following a brief encounter in a joint operation by Punjab and Rajasthan police in Ramnagaria area of Jaipur, officials said on Sunday.

    The main shooter, identified as Ramjan Khan alias Raj Hooda, was injured in his leg in the shoot-out, said Promod Ban, head of the Anti-Gangster Task Force of the Punjab Police.

    In Jaipur, Additional DCP (East) Avanish Sharma said that Hooda was hiding in a flat with two others.

    ‘The accused opened fire at police personnel during the raid prompting the police to retaliate. In the exchange of fire, he was injured and has been hospitalised,” he said, adding the role of the two other persons, who have been rounded up, is being examined.

    Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda follower Pardeep Singh, an accused in the 2015 Bargari sacrilege case, was shot dead by six assailants in his shop at Kotkapura in Faridkot in Punjab on November 10.

    Five shooters have already been arrested in this case.

    Three of them including two minors were nabbed by the special cell of the Delhi police while two were arrested by the Punjab police.

    Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said the operation was conducted in coordination with central agencies and Rajasthan Police.

    “In a major breakthrough AGTF arrested Ramjan Khan @ Raj Hooda, involved in murder of Pardeep at Kotkapura, Faridkot has been apprehended after a brief encounter with AGTF at Jaipur, Rajasthan,” said Yadav in a tweet.

    Hooda was the main shooter involved in the murder of the Dera Sacha Sauda follower, Pramod Ban told PTI.

    The encounter took place in the Jagatpura area in Jaipur.

    “We will question him in detail once we bring him here,” said Pramod Ban.

    Hooda received a bullet injury in his leg, said police.

    Police said it had been on his trail for the past many days.

    The alleged shooter kept changing his hideouts, said Ban.

    Hooda moved from Chandigarh to Hisar and then came back to Chandigarh, and on Saturday, he reached Jaipur, said Ban.

    Despite having Punjab Police protection, Pardeep was killed by six assailants in his dairy shop in Kotkapura in Faridkot.

    His security man and another person had sustained bullet injuries in the incident.

    Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar had claimed responsibility for the killing in a purported social media post.

    Brar is also the main accused in the murder case of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, who was shot dead in May.

    Police on Saturday had said that from the interrogation and evidence collected so far, involvement of Brar has been established beyond doubt in the murder case.

    He was the key conspirator in this case, police had said.

    JAIPUR/CHANDIGARH: A suspected shooter involved in the murder of a Dera Sacha Sauda follower was arrested following a brief encounter in a joint operation by Punjab and Rajasthan police in Ramnagaria area of Jaipur, officials said on Sunday.

    The main shooter, identified as Ramjan Khan alias Raj Hooda, was injured in his leg in the shoot-out, said Promod Ban, head of the Anti-Gangster Task Force of the Punjab Police.

    In Jaipur, Additional DCP (East) Avanish Sharma said that Hooda was hiding in a flat with two others.

    ‘The accused opened fire at police personnel during the raid prompting the police to retaliate. In the exchange of fire, he was injured and has been hospitalised,” he said, adding the role of the two other persons, who have been rounded up, is being examined.

    Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda follower Pardeep Singh, an accused in the 2015 Bargari sacrilege case, was shot dead by six assailants in his shop at Kotkapura in Faridkot in Punjab on November 10.

    Five shooters have already been arrested in this case.

    Three of them including two minors were nabbed by the special cell of the Delhi police while two were arrested by the Punjab police.

    Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said the operation was conducted in coordination with central agencies and Rajasthan Police.

    “In a major breakthrough AGTF arrested Ramjan Khan @ Raj Hooda, involved in murder of Pardeep at Kotkapura, Faridkot has been apprehended after a brief encounter with AGTF at Jaipur, Rajasthan,” said Yadav in a tweet.

    Hooda was the main shooter involved in the murder of the Dera Sacha Sauda follower, Pramod Ban told PTI.

    The encounter took place in the Jagatpura area in Jaipur.

    “We will question him in detail once we bring him here,” said Pramod Ban.

    Hooda received a bullet injury in his leg, said police.

    Police said it had been on his trail for the past many days.

    The alleged shooter kept changing his hideouts, said Ban.

    Hooda moved from Chandigarh to Hisar and then came back to Chandigarh, and on Saturday, he reached Jaipur, said Ban.

    Despite having Punjab Police protection, Pardeep was killed by six assailants in his dairy shop in Kotkapura in Faridkot.

    His security man and another person had sustained bullet injuries in the incident.

    Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar had claimed responsibility for the killing in a purported social media post.

    Brar is also the main accused in the murder case of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, who was shot dead in May.

    Police on Saturday had said that from the interrogation and evidence collected so far, involvement of Brar has been established beyond doubt in the murder case.

    He was the key conspirator in this case, police had said.

  • Three shooters in Dera Sacha Sauda follower’s murder in Faridkot apprehended

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Three shooters accused of killing Dera Sacha Sauda follower Pardeep Singh in Punjab’s Faridkot have been apprehended on Friday, the Delhi Police informed.

    Earlier in the day, the Punjab Police Intelligence Unit and Delhi Police Counter-Intelligence unit had identified six persons who were accused of killing Pardeep Singh, in Faridkot.

    Following the identification, the forces carried the raids to apprehend them.

    The police team conducted raids in the police station area of Bakshiwala in Patiala at around 3.30 am today and apprehended three of the six involved in the murder of a Dera Sacha Sauda follower.

    The police have identified these apprehended persons as residents of Haryana, of which two hailed from Rohtak and one from Bhiwani.

    “There were a total of six assailants; four from Haryana (the fourth absconding belongs to the Haryana module with an alias Hooda) and two from Punjab Module,” the police said in its official statement.

    It further added that these different modules were being handled independently by Canada-based Goldy Brar, who is an associate of fugitive Harvinder Singh alias Rinda and jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.

    The teams are making further attempts to apprehend the absconding accused.

    According to the police, the accused persons had fired about 60 bullets at Pradeep Singh.

    According to the CCTV visuals, Dera Sacha Sauda follower Pardeep Singh, also an accused in the Bargari Sacrilege incident, was shot dead in Faridkot, Punjab by unidentified assailants, while going to his shop on Thursday morning.

    According to the police, the security personnel of Singh also did the retaliatory firing.

    However, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann instructed police officials to maintain peace and harmony in the state on Thursday.

    “In a meeting with senior police officials with Chief Minister today (Thursday), the KotKapura incident was discussed in detail. CM clearly said that peace and harmony would be maintained in the state. Another meeting will be called next week. Case probe underway,” Special Director General of Police (Home Guard) Sanjeev Kalra.

    The Bargari sacrilege case pertains to the incident reported in Faridkot in 2015 where parts of the Guru Granth Sahib were found scattered in village Bargari in Faridkot on October 12, 2015, and an FIR was registered under sections 295, 120-B of IPC at Police Station Bajakhana.

    Three FIRs in the said case have been filed against Gurmeet Ram Rahim who is currently lodged in Sunaria Jail of Rohtak and appears only through video conferencing in matters related to the 2015 sacrilege incidents.

    “Three FIRs were filed in sacrilege cases. We had filed a plea that if Ram Rahim has to be produced before Court, it has to be done only via video conferencing. He shouldn’t be taken to Punjab. Today, Court gave the order in favour of Ram Rahim,” his lawyer Kanika Ahuja said on May 3.

    Notably, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is currently serving a 20-year jail term for raping two women disciples at his Sirsa ashram, where the dera is headquartered. He was convicted by a special CBI court in Panchkula in August 2017.

    NEW DELHI: Three shooters accused of killing Dera Sacha Sauda follower Pardeep Singh in Punjab’s Faridkot have been apprehended on Friday, the Delhi Police informed.

    Earlier in the day, the Punjab Police Intelligence Unit and Delhi Police Counter-Intelligence unit had identified six persons who were accused of killing Pardeep Singh, in Faridkot.

    Following the identification, the forces carried the raids to apprehend them.

    The police team conducted raids in the police station area of Bakshiwala in Patiala at around 3.30 am today and apprehended three of the six involved in the murder of a Dera Sacha Sauda follower.

    The police have identified these apprehended persons as residents of Haryana, of which two hailed from Rohtak and one from Bhiwani.

    “There were a total of six assailants; four from Haryana (the fourth absconding belongs to the Haryana module with an alias Hooda) and two from Punjab Module,” the police said in its official statement.

    It further added that these different modules were being handled independently by Canada-based Goldy Brar, who is an associate of fugitive Harvinder Singh alias Rinda and jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.

    The teams are making further attempts to apprehend the absconding accused.

    According to the police, the accused persons had fired about 60 bullets at Pradeep Singh.

    According to the CCTV visuals, Dera Sacha Sauda follower Pardeep Singh, also an accused in the Bargari Sacrilege incident, was shot dead in Faridkot, Punjab by unidentified assailants, while going to his shop on Thursday morning.

    According to the police, the security personnel of Singh also did the retaliatory firing.

    However, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann instructed police officials to maintain peace and harmony in the state on Thursday.

    “In a meeting with senior police officials with Chief Minister today (Thursday), the KotKapura incident was discussed in detail. CM clearly said that peace and harmony would be maintained in the state. Another meeting will be called next week. Case probe underway,” Special Director General of Police (Home Guard) Sanjeev Kalra.

    The Bargari sacrilege case pertains to the incident reported in Faridkot in 2015 where parts of the Guru Granth Sahib were found scattered in village Bargari in Faridkot on October 12, 2015, and an FIR was registered under sections 295, 120-B of IPC at Police Station Bajakhana.

    Three FIRs in the said case have been filed against Gurmeet Ram Rahim who is currently lodged in Sunaria Jail of Rohtak and appears only through video conferencing in matters related to the 2015 sacrilege incidents.

    “Three FIRs were filed in sacrilege cases. We had filed a plea that if Ram Rahim has to be produced before Court, it has to be done only via video conferencing. He shouldn’t be taken to Punjab. Today, Court gave the order in favour of Ram Rahim,” his lawyer Kanika Ahuja said on May 3.

    Notably, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is currently serving a 20-year jail term for raping two women disciples at his Sirsa ashram, where the dera is headquartered. He was convicted by a special CBI court in Panchkula in August 2017.

  • Dera follower, an accused in sacrilege cases, shot dead in Faridkot, incident caught on CCTV

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: A Dera Sacha Sauda follower, who was an accused in the 2015 sacrilege cases, was shot dead on Thursday by five unidentified assailants in Punjab’s Faridkot district, police said.

    Pardeep Singh was shot in his dairy shop at around 7 am in Kotkapura in Faridkot, the police said, adding that his security man and another person sustained bullet injuries in the incident.

    The incident was caught on a CCTV camera installed nearby.

    Of the five motorcycle-borne assailants, two entered Pardeep Singh’s shop and opened fire at him.

    After they ran out of the shop, the other three waiting outside also opened fire.

    Several shots were fired in the incident.

    After committing the crime, the assailants fled.

    Pardeep Singh was an accused in a case of theft of a ‘bir’ (copy) of the Guru Granth Sahib from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in June 2015 and also in a case linked to torn pages of the Sikh holy book being found scattered in Bargari in October 2015 in Faridkot.

    He was currently on bail.

    Several senior officers including Additional Director General of Police (Law and order) Arpit Shukla and Inspector General of Police (Faridkot Range) Pradeep Kumar Yadav visited the crime spot and took stock of the situation.

    A forensic team also reached the spot to collect samples.

    Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav urged people to maintain peace and harmony in the state and said an investigation in the incident is underway.

    “The situation is under control and I urge people to maintain peace and harmony in the state. @PunjabPoliceInd is doing proper investigation Request citizens not to panic or spread fake news or any hate speech,” the DGP said in a tweet.

    Speaking to reporters, IGP Pradeep Yadav said police have got some leads and are working on them.

    He said the assailants will be arrested soon.

    Police are also examining the CCTV footage of the incident.

    Pardeep Singh’s killing came days after the November 4 murder of Shiv Sena (Taksali) leader Sudhir Suri in Amritsar.

    Both the victims had police protection.

    Opposition parties attacked the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government over the law and order situation in the state.

    Former Punjab chief minister and BJP leader Amarinder Singh alleged that the state is “heading towards total lawlessness”.

    “Daily murders, Daylight Firing, Pb is sadly heading towards total lawlessness & the inexperienced @BhagwantMann led govt has been able to do nothing to stop all this. I strongly urge him to start focusing on law & order of state before we transcend towards the dark era of 80s,” Singh tweeted.

    Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said there is “complete anarchy” in the state.

    “As @AAPPunjab govt failed & @ArvindKejriwal forgot to do justice in sacrilege cases within 24 hours, people have started taking law in their own hands. A dera follower has been reportedly killed in Kotkapura. Killings have no justification,” he said in a tweet.

    Punjab BJP general secretary Subhash Sharma said the state government is in a “deep slumber”.

    “One more murder. Every day incidents of violence are happening in Punjab. Bhagwant Mannji, understand your constitutional duty and turn your attention towards Punjab,” he said.

    Mann said no one will be allowed to disturb peace in the state.

    “Punjab is a peace-loving state where mutual brotherhood of people is very strong. No one will be allowed to disturb the peace of Punjab. Strict instructions (have been given) to the civil and police officials to maintain the peace and tranquillity in the state,” he tweeted.

    Incidents of theft of the ‘bir’ of the Guru Granth Sahib, putting up of handwritten sacrilegious posters and torn pages of the holy book being found in Bargari had triggered protests in Faridkot in 2015.

    Two persons were killed in Behbal Kalan while some people were injured at Kotkapura in Faridkot after police fired at protesters in October 2015.

    CHANDIGARH: A Dera Sacha Sauda follower, who was an accused in the 2015 sacrilege cases, was shot dead on Thursday by five unidentified assailants in Punjab’s Faridkot district, police said.

    Pardeep Singh was shot in his dairy shop at around 7 am in Kotkapura in Faridkot, the police said, adding that his security man and another person sustained bullet injuries in the incident.

    The incident was caught on a CCTV camera installed nearby.

    Of the five motorcycle-borne assailants, two entered Pardeep Singh’s shop and opened fire at him.

    After they ran out of the shop, the other three waiting outside also opened fire.

    Several shots were fired in the incident.

    After committing the crime, the assailants fled.

    Pardeep Singh was an accused in a case of theft of a ‘bir’ (copy) of the Guru Granth Sahib from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in June 2015 and also in a case linked to torn pages of the Sikh holy book being found scattered in Bargari in October 2015 in Faridkot.

    He was currently on bail.

    Several senior officers including Additional Director General of Police (Law and order) Arpit Shukla and Inspector General of Police (Faridkot Range) Pradeep Kumar Yadav visited the crime spot and took stock of the situation.

    A forensic team also reached the spot to collect samples.

    Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav urged people to maintain peace and harmony in the state and said an investigation in the incident is underway.

    “The situation is under control and I urge people to maintain peace and harmony in the state. @PunjabPoliceInd is doing proper investigation Request citizens not to panic or spread fake news or any hate speech,” the DGP said in a tweet.

    Speaking to reporters, IGP Pradeep Yadav said police have got some leads and are working on them.

    He said the assailants will be arrested soon.

    Police are also examining the CCTV footage of the incident.

    Pardeep Singh’s killing came days after the November 4 murder of Shiv Sena (Taksali) leader Sudhir Suri in Amritsar.

    Both the victims had police protection.

    Opposition parties attacked the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government over the law and order situation in the state.

    Former Punjab chief minister and BJP leader Amarinder Singh alleged that the state is “heading towards total lawlessness”.

    “Daily murders, Daylight Firing, Pb is sadly heading towards total lawlessness & the inexperienced @BhagwantMann led govt has been able to do nothing to stop all this. I strongly urge him to start focusing on law & order of state before we transcend towards the dark era of 80s,” Singh tweeted.

    Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said there is “complete anarchy” in the state.

    “As @AAPPunjab govt failed & @ArvindKejriwal forgot to do justice in sacrilege cases within 24 hours, people have started taking law in their own hands. A dera follower has been reportedly killed in Kotkapura. Killings have no justification,” he said in a tweet.

    Punjab BJP general secretary Subhash Sharma said the state government is in a “deep slumber”.

    “One more murder. Every day incidents of violence are happening in Punjab. Bhagwant Mannji, understand your constitutional duty and turn your attention towards Punjab,” he said.

    Mann said no one will be allowed to disturb peace in the state.

    “Punjab is a peace-loving state where mutual brotherhood of people is very strong. No one will be allowed to disturb the peace of Punjab. Strict instructions (have been given) to the civil and police officials to maintain the peace and tranquillity in the state,” he tweeted.

    Incidents of theft of the ‘bir’ of the Guru Granth Sahib, putting up of handwritten sacrilegious posters and torn pages of the holy book being found in Bargari had triggered protests in Faridkot in 2015.

    Two persons were killed in Behbal Kalan while some people were injured at Kotkapura in Faridkot after police fired at protesters in October 2015.

  • Out on parole, Sirsa dera chief holds online discourses; BJP leaders show up

    By PTI

    KARNAL: Currently out on parole, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for the past few days has been holding online discourses, which have been attended by BJP leaders from Haryana.

    His parole has once again coincided with some polls in the region, the third such instance in the current year.

    Haryana will be witnessing panchayat elections and the bypolls to the Adampur Assembly seat next month.

    The dera chief, who is serving a 20-year jail for raping his two disciples, had earlier come out of prison on a month-long parole in June, ahead of the elections to 46 municipalities in Haryana.

    He was granted three weeks furlough from February 7, barely two weeks before the Punjab Assembly elections.

    The Sirsa dera has a large number of followers in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

    The 55-year-old Sirsa dera chief is holding online “satsangs” from the dera’s Barnawa ashram in UP’s Bagphat.

    Haryana Deputy Speaker Ranbir Gangwa was present in a big gathering of the sect’s followers in Hisar on Wednesday to listen to an online discourse, during which he talked about his family’s association with the Sirsa dera.

    Earlier on Tuesday, Karnal Mayor Renu Bala also joined an online “satsang” along with some other BJP leaders.

    After his release on 40-day parole on October 14, the dera chief went to the Barnawa ashram from Rohtak’s Sunaria jail where he was lodged.

    Speaking with him during the online discourse, Ranbir Gangwa said he was happy at the blessings given by the dera chief and hoped that one day he will address them face-to-face.

    “You should always give your blessings,” said Gangwa, who referred to several “humanitarian causes” taken up by the dera from time to time.

    Renu Bala addressed to the sect chief as “Pitaji” and said his blessings should always be with them.

    She said many years back he had come to Karnal and given a message of cleanliness that helped the city.

    “In future too, you should come to Karnal and once again give a message of ‘swachhta’ and bless us,” she is heard saying in a video of the event.

    When contacted over the phone on Thursday, Gangwa said he sees nothing wrong in attending to the online discourse of the dera chief.

    He said since decades he and his family is connected with the dera and it is a matter of personal belief and choices.

    “Since my birth, I am connected with this dera. In my village, the dera exists since 1960. Who follows that belief is his choice, why should anyone have an issue with that,” he said.

    When asked eyebrows were being raised on the timing of dera chief’s parole, Gangwa said, “If he has been given parole against jail manual, then one can raise an objection. But granting parole to any prisoner is his legitimate right and rules have been framed for that”.

    “He has been given parole even when there were no polls, so I don’t see any issue here,” Gangwa said.

    Gangwa said several “humanitarian causes” have been taken up by the dera from time to time, including cleanliness drive, holding mega blood donation camps, drives against drug menace, extending help to the poor, which should not be overlooked.

    The dera chief was last year also convicted along with four others for hatching a conspiracy to kill Ranjit Singh, a dera manager.

    The dera chief and three others were convicted in 2019 for the murder of a journalist more than 16 years ago.

    KARNAL: Currently out on parole, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for the past few days has been holding online discourses, which have been attended by BJP leaders from Haryana.

    His parole has once again coincided with some polls in the region, the third such instance in the current year.

    Haryana will be witnessing panchayat elections and the bypolls to the Adampur Assembly seat next month.

    The dera chief, who is serving a 20-year jail for raping his two disciples, had earlier come out of prison on a month-long parole in June, ahead of the elections to 46 municipalities in Haryana.

    He was granted three weeks furlough from February 7, barely two weeks before the Punjab Assembly elections.

    The Sirsa dera has a large number of followers in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

    The 55-year-old Sirsa dera chief is holding online “satsangs” from the dera’s Barnawa ashram in UP’s Bagphat.

    Haryana Deputy Speaker Ranbir Gangwa was present in a big gathering of the sect’s followers in Hisar on Wednesday to listen to an online discourse, during which he talked about his family’s association with the Sirsa dera.

    Earlier on Tuesday, Karnal Mayor Renu Bala also joined an online “satsang” along with some other BJP leaders.

    After his release on 40-day parole on October 14, the dera chief went to the Barnawa ashram from Rohtak’s Sunaria jail where he was lodged.

    Speaking with him during the online discourse, Ranbir Gangwa said he was happy at the blessings given by the dera chief and hoped that one day he will address them face-to-face.

    “You should always give your blessings,” said Gangwa, who referred to several “humanitarian causes” taken up by the dera from time to time.

    Renu Bala addressed to the sect chief as “Pitaji” and said his blessings should always be with them.

    She said many years back he had come to Karnal and given a message of cleanliness that helped the city.

    “In future too, you should come to Karnal and once again give a message of ‘swachhta’ and bless us,” she is heard saying in a video of the event.

    When contacted over the phone on Thursday, Gangwa said he sees nothing wrong in attending to the online discourse of the dera chief.

    He said since decades he and his family is connected with the dera and it is a matter of personal belief and choices.

    “Since my birth, I am connected with this dera. In my village, the dera exists since 1960. Who follows that belief is his choice, why should anyone have an issue with that,” he said.

    When asked eyebrows were being raised on the timing of dera chief’s parole, Gangwa said, “If he has been given parole against jail manual, then one can raise an objection. But granting parole to any prisoner is his legitimate right and rules have been framed for that”.

    “He has been given parole even when there were no polls, so I don’t see any issue here,” Gangwa said.

    Gangwa said several “humanitarian causes” have been taken up by the dera from time to time, including cleanliness drive, holding mega blood donation camps, drives against drug menace, extending help to the poor, which should not be overlooked.

    The dera chief was last year also convicted along with four others for hatching a conspiracy to kill Ranjit Singh, a dera manager.

    The dera chief and three others were convicted in 2019 for the murder of a journalist more than 16 years ago.

  • Final SIT report on 2015 Punjab sacrilege cases puts blames on Dera Sacha Sauda

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: The final investigation report of the Punjab Police on the 2015 desecration cases has pinned blame on Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda.

    Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday handed over the 467-page report of the special investigation team of the Punjab Police to Sikh leaders, including Chamkaur Singh and Major Singh Pandori here, said officials.

    The SIT led by Inspector General of Police SPS Parmar investigated the incidents and submit the report to the state DGP on April 21.

    The incidents related to the theft of a ‘bir’ (copy) of the Guru Ganth Sahib, putting up handwritten sacrilegious posters and torn pages of the holy book found scattered at Bargari had taken place in Faridkot in 2015.

    These incidents had led to protests in Faridkot.

    In the police firing at protesters in October 2015, two persons were killed in Behbal Kalan while some people were injured at Kotkapura in Faridkot.

    According to the report, Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been named in three desecration incidents.

    As per the report, the motive behind the three cases “is having a direct link with the Dera Sacha Sauda and the accused persons who are involved in these cases are followers of the said dera.”

    “It is evident from material/evidence collected by the SIT of the Punjab Police that the accused were having direct nexus with the management of the dera. The motive behind the incidents was also having a link with the movie ‘MSG-2’,” it said.

    Followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda were upset over the non-release of Ram Rahim starrer Messenger of God (MSG-2) movie.

    The other accused in these three cases are Sukhjinder Singh, alias Sunny, Shakti Singh, Baljit Singh, Randeep Singh, alias Neela, Ranjit Singh, alias Bhola, Nishan Singh, Narinder Sharma and Pardeep Singh.

    The three other accused–Harsh Dhuri, Pardeep Kler and Sandeep Bareta–are yet to be arrested.

    They have been declared proclaimed offenders.

    Dera Sacha Sauda follower Mohinder Pal Bittu, who was a key accused in the cases, was killed in a Nabha prison by two inmates in 2019.

    The SIT had even questioned Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the Sunaria jail of Haryana’s Rohtak in connection with the incidents.

    However, the report said Ram Rahim remained “non-cooperative” during the course of investigation by the SIT.

    The three cases of sacrilege are under trial at a Faridkot court and the next date for the framing of charges against the accused is July 29.

    Last year, the CBI on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court had handed over the documents and files related to the 2015 incidents to the Punjab Police SIT.

    In 2015, the then SAD-BJP government had handed over the three cases to the CBI for probe.

    The Punjab government had handed over the probe to an SIT of the state police in September 2018 after the state Assembly passed a resolution withdrawing consent to the CBI to investigate these cases, noting lack of progress in the investigation.

  • Jailed Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim does not fall in hardcore prisoner category: HC

    The court of Justice Raj Mohan Singh also disposed of the plea filed by a Patiala resident who had challenged the furlough granted to Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in February.

  • Punjab police SIT team questions Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief for more than 7 hours in sacrilege case

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: A Punjab police SIT team on Monday grilled jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for more than seven hours in connection with a 2015 sacrilege case.

    During the questioning at Rohtak’s Sunaria jail in Haryana, the jailed sect head was asked more than 100 questions by the Punjab police special investigation team (SIT) led by Inspector General of Police S P S Parmar.

    “The questioning began at 10:30 AM and continued till 6 PM,” Parmar told PTI over the phone.

    The SIT will now submit a report in this regard in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on November 12, he said.

    The Dera sect head has been questioned for the first time in the sacrilege case.

    Parmar and three other SIT members – Senior Superintendent of Police M S Bhullar, Deputy Superintendent of Police Lakhvir Singh and Inspector Dalbir Singh – left for Rohtak’s Sunaria jail from Rajpura on Monday morning, officials said.

    Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is currently lodged in Rohtak’s Sunaria jail since his conviction in 2017 for raping two disciples.

    The Dera Sacha Sauda chief had been named as an accused in the theft of a ‘bir’ (copy) of the Guru Granth Sahib.

    Last month, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had told the Punjab police that it could question the Dera sect head in jail in the 2015 sacrilege case.

    The high court had, however, ordered that Dera head would not be taken to the Faridkot court in pursuance of a production warrant.

    The Faridkot court had earlier issued the production warrant against Gurmeet Ram Rahim in the 2015 desecration of Guru Granth Sahib case for an appearance on October 29.

    The previous SAD-BJP government had handed over the three cases – theft of a ”bir” (copy) of the Guru Granth Sahib from a Burj Jawahar Singh Wala gurdwara, putting up of handwritten sacrilegious posters in Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala and torn pages of the holy book found at Bargari – to the CBI for investigation.

    The Punjab government, however, had handed over the probe to an SIT of the state police in September 2018 after the state Assembly passed a resolution withdrawing consent to the CBI to investigate these cases, noting a lack of progress in the investigation.

    In 2017, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was sentenced to 20-year imprisonment for raping two disciples.

    Over two years back, the sect head was also awarded life imprisonment for the murder of a journalist, Ram Chander Chhatrapati.

    On October 18 this year, a special CBI court in Panchkula had sentenced Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four others to life imprisonment in the 19-year-old murder case of the sect manager Ranjit Singh.

  • Sacrilege case: Punjab Police SIT to question Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: A special investigation team (SIT) of the Punjab Police left for the Sunaria jail in Haryana’s Rohtak on Monday morning to question Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in connection with a 2015 sacrilege case.

    Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is lodged in the Sunaria jail since his conviction in 2017 for raping two of his disciples.

    The Dera Sacha Sauda chief was named as an accused in the theft of a “bir” (copy) of the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of Sikhs.

    The four-member SIT, led by Inspector General SPS Parmar, left for the Sunaria jail from Rajpura in the morning, officials said.

    The other members of the team are Senior Superintendent of Police M S Bhullar, Deputy Superintendent of Police Lakhvir Singh and Inspector Dalbir Singh.

    “It is a process of investigation which we are taking forward,” Parmar told reporters before leaving for Rohtak.

    Replying to a query on how long is the questioning of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief expected to last, he said it would depend on whether he cooperates or not and “whether his replies are proper or not”.

    He said the SIT has prepared a list of questions for Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

    Last month, the Punjab and Haryana High Court said the Punjab Police could question the Dera Sacha Sauda sect head in the jail in connection with the 2015 sacrilege case.

    The court had, however, said Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh would not be taken to the Faridkot court in pursuance of a production warrant.

    The Faridkot court had earlier issued the production warrant against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the case for producing him before it on October 29.

    The previous SAD-BJP government in Punjab had handed over three cases — lodged in connection with the theft of a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib from a Burj Jawahar Singh Wala gurdwara, putting up of handwritten sacrilegious posters in Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala, and torn pages of the holy book found at Bargari — to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

    The Punjab government, however, had handed over the probe to the SIT of the state police in September 2018, after the state Assembly passed a resolution withdrawing consent to the CBI to investigate these cases, noting a lack of progress in the investigation.

    In 2017, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was sentenced to jail for 20 years for raping two of his disciples.

    More than two years ago, the Dera Sacha Sauda sect head was also sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.

    On October 18 this year, a special CBI court in Panchkula sentenced Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four others to life imprisonment in the 19-year-old murder case of sect manager Ranjit Singh.

  • Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh pronounced guilty of killing follower

    Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH:  A special CBI court on Friday found Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four others guilty on the charge of murdering his follower Ranjit Singh in 2002. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on October 12.

    The verdict was pronounced by CBI Special Judge Sushil Garg in Panckula. 

    The Dera chief is the main accused in the case. The other accused are Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, Avtar Singh and Sabdil. Another accused Inder Sain had died in October 2020.

    Ranjit Singh was a staunch follower of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. He was murdered on July 10, 2002. As per the charge sheet filed by the CBI, Ram Rahim had suspected that Singh had circulated an anonymous letter among the Dera followers which allegedly accused him of sexually exploiting women followers. This was the same letter which Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati highlighted in his news report. 

  • No clean chit to Dera Sacha Sauda chief in sacrilege case: Punjab Police

    The statement came amid some news reports referring to Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota, who has been given additional charge of Punjab #39;s police chief.