30 dead, 250 hurt in violence following Ram Rahim verdict
Maverick selfstyled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was on Friday convicted of rape by a court here, triggering widespread violence and arson in Haryana where 30 people were killed and over 250 injured after which curfew was imposed here and other places.
By : migrator
Update: 2017-08-25 23:21 GMT
Chandigarh
Arson by the frenzied followers of the head of Dera Sacha Sauda was also witnessed in Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan within a few hours of the pronouncement of the judgement by the CBI court here in the 2002 case.
CBI judge Jagdeep Singh held Ram Rahim, the 50-yearold flamboyant chief of the dera, guilty of rape in a case that was registered on the basis of an anonymous written complaint in 2002 that he had sexually exploited two female followers.
The quantum of sentence against Ram Rahim, who enjoys ‘Z’ category security, will be pronounced on August 28, CBI counsel HPS Verma told reporters outside the court.
The punishment can be a jail term not less than seven years but may even extend to life imprisonment. Ram Rahim travelled to the court from Sirsa, about 260 kms from Chandigarh, in a huge convoy of vehicles which had his security guards and several followers.
As news spread and his thousands of followers gathered near the Panchkula court went on the rampage, Ram Rahim was taken by a helicopter to a jail in Rohtak.
His followers, ironically called ‘premis’ (who believe in love), unleashed violence and set afire a large number of vehicles, buildings and railway stations in Panchkula.
The Army was called out and curfew was imposed in 10 districts of Punjab’s Malwa region, home to a large number of Dera Sacha Sauda followers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the violence, terming it as “deeply distressing” and urged everyone to maintain peace. President Ram Nath Kovind also condemned violence.
Madhur Verma, the Delhi Police’s Public Relations Officer, said a few incidents of buses being torched by some miscreants were reported as violence spread to the national capital.
Section 144 CrPc, which prohibits the assembly of four or more people, has been imposed in areas including New Delhi, Verma said, adding that adequate security arrangements were in place to deal with any eventuality.
A bus was torched allegedly by Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s followers in northeast Delhi’s Loni Chowk. A fire also engulfed two coaches of the Rewa Express stationed at the Anand Vihar Railway Station.
Know more about GURMEET RAM RAHIM SINGH
- The chief of Dera Sacha Sauda, which claims to be a social welfare and spiritual organisation, since 1990. (The sect, which was founded in 1948, has 50 million followers in India and abroad).
- Married and has three daughters and a son.
- Enjoys Z+ security cover after an attack in 2008.
- Star of two hit feature films – Messenger of God and Messenger of God 2
- Recorded albums under Universal Label. His album Highway Love charger was a hit
- Held over 100 rock shows that feature the genre called “Religious rock”.
- 'MSG’ brand of organic products are available in the market.
- Also underwent trial for plotting the murder of a journalist in 2002.
- His impersonation of Sikh Guru Gobind Singh in 2007 caused an uproar and led to violence. Later, the sect issued an apology.
- It was also alleged in 2015 he encouraged his 400 followers to undergo castration so that they could get closer to god.
- An Indian newspaper placed him 96th in their list of the 100 most powerful Indians of 2015.
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