Dera Sacha Sauda's Gurmeet Ram Rahim and four others have been awarded life imprisonment by the special CBI court in Haryana in the Ranjit Singh murder case.
Additionally, a fine of Rs 31 lakhs has also been levied on Ram Rahim and Rs 50,000 on the remaining four accused – Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, Avtar Singh, and Sabdil.
The court had convicted Ram Rahim and the other accused on October 8 for the murder of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh.
Ram Rahim is currently serving 20 years jail term in Rohtak Jail for raping two followers. He pleaded for mercy via video conferencing citing the works done by his sect like blood donation camps, eye check-up camps, tree plantation drives and assistance at various places during natural calamities. He also cited personal health issues like blood pressure, eye and kidney ailments in his plea.
Meanwhile, the CBI has opposed the plea and demanded maximum punishment under IPC Section 302. It stated that the accused was like a God for the victim against whom he committed the crime and that it was committed in a cold-blooded manner, without any provocation.
The CBI charge sheet mentions that the Dera chief believed that Ranjit Singh was involved in circulation of an anonymous letter detailing how women were sexually exploited by Ram Rahim and hatched a plan to kill him.
