Spiritual guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh guilty of Rape

Dera Sacha Sauda chief and self-declared spiritual guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been held guilty of raping two sadhvis (female followers) in 2002

This matter came to light when a Dera Sadhvi wrote an anonymous letter to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee saying she was raped by the Dera Chief. Sadhvi has also accused guru of raping several other females followers inside the dera campus.

FIR was filed against Ram Rahim in 2002 by CBI but the case came to trial only in 2008. The Punjab and Haryana High Court took suo moto of its own accord cognizance of the Sadhvi's letter and directed the CBI to register a sexual exploitation case against the Dera chief in 2002.

The trial commenced against Ram Rahim in 2008 and on September 6, 2008, he was charged under Section 376(rape) and Section 506 (Criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. The Dera chief has pleaded that all these charges are baseless and he is not even capable of engaging in physical relations.

Ram Rahim is also known as Guru of Bling because of his taste in clothes and ornate jewelry. He is among 36 Indians to have VVIP status and hence merits Z-level security. He enjoys immense popularity among masses. Both the States of Punjab and Haryana are locked down because the followers are on street. Around 72 trains have been canceled. Schools and colleges are closed. Internet services have been suspended for 48 hours.

The hearing of the case took place at CBI court in Panchkula. Ram Rahim is expected to be arrested and move to the jail in Ambala. For now he has been taken into judicial custody and he might face 7 years of imprisonment. Quantum of sentence is to be expected to come on 28th August. After the conviction of Ram Rahim, it is reported that 8 people are killed in Panchkula violence and over 100 are injured and crowd has turned violent in Sirsa.