Gurmeet driver in 'truth' plea

Gurmeet Ram Rahim (Left) and driver Khatta Singh (right)

TT, Chandigarh, Sept. 16: A former driver of jailed rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim today approached a CBI special court with a plea to make a fresh statement as final arguments began in two murder cases where the Dera Sacha Sauda chief is an accused.

The court, which had last month convicted Gurmeet on two rape charges and sentenced him to 20 years in prison, would hear the fresh petition on September 22 to decide whether it is admissible.

Gurmeet has been named as the prime conspirator in the 2002 murders of Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and Ranjeet Singh, a former Dera supporter.

This morning, when the final arguments on the Ranjeet murder case began, Gurmeet's former driver, Khatta Singh, moved an application through his lawyer, Navkiran Singh, seeking the court's permission to re-record his statement.

"I was under pressure from the Dera to change my statement. I was scared of him and his henchmen. Now that he is behind bars I felt that I must tell the truth to the court," Khatta said in his application.

During the investigation into the two murder cases, the CBI had picked Khatta as the prime witness against Gurmeet.

"His statement was first recorded in 2007 but in 2012, during the trial stage, he had retracted and was declared hostile," a CBI officer said.

The court, in Panchkula, has issued notices to the CBI and Gurmeet's counsel seeking their response to Khatta's plea on September 22.

"Khatta Singh has claimed that he was a resident of the Dera in 2002 when the murders were committed and has insider information about the circumstances that led to the crimes," anotherCBI officer said.

In July 2002, Ranjeet, said to bethe brother of one of the female disciples who was raped by Gurmeet, was gunned down near his village in Kurukshetra, Haryana. CBI sources said Ranjit was suspected to have had a role in an anonymous letter that exposed how women were exploited by Gurmeet at the Dera.

Three months later, in October 2002, Chhatrapati was shot at in front of his residence in Sirsa after the anonymous letter was published. He succumbed a month later in a Delhi-based hospital.

Anshul Chhatrapati, son of the slain journalist, said: "Khatta Singh could prove to be the key witness in the case if the court allows him to record his statement."

Gurmeet, now lodged in Rohtak's Sunaria jail, attended the court proceedings via video-conference as Panchkula police had moved a plea before the court that his personal appearance could lead to a law-and-order problem in the city.

Ahead of Gurmeet's August 25 conviction, lakhs of Dera supporters had assembled in Panchkula and had resorted to large-scale violence soon after the verdict. Around 40 people died in the violence.

Punjab and Haryana High Court had later pulled up the Haryana government, accusing it of "political surrender to allure a vote bank".