Dera chief gets life imprisonment in murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.... A special CBI court in Panchkula, Haryana today sentenced Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to life imprisonment in prison for the 2002-murder of Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.

CBI court awards life imprisonment to Dera Chief Ram Rahim Dera Sacha Sauda, the sect led by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh boasts of 60 million followers worldwide (Representative Image)  |  Photo Credit: BCCL

Mirror New, Jan 17, 2019, Panchkula: A special CBI court has sentenced Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to life imprisonment after being found guilty of the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. The self-styled godman who is currently serving 20 years at the Sunaria prison in Haryana for the rape of two of his female disciples, appeared before the court via video-conferencing. The other three accused in the case have also been awarded life imprisonment. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the each of them.

The sect chief along with three of Dera's followers namely Kuldeep Singh, Nirmal Singh, and Krishan Lal was convicted for the death of the Sirsa-based scribe by the special court on January 11. In its chargesheet against the accused, India's premier investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) indicated how the order to murder Chhatrapati was known to the sect chief. Carpenters with the Dera, Nirmal and Kuldeep Singh were given a walkie-talkie and a gun, which belonged to Krishan Lal, said the investigating officials.

Panchkula court

(Security personnel outside the divisional magistrate court in Panchkula)

Following the orders to murder Chhatrapati who was the editor of a regional evening daily called 'Poora Sach' at the time, the two carpenters shot the victim at point-blank range right outside his residence in Sirsa.

(Nirmal Singh, Kuldeep Singh and Krishan Lal, the other three convicted of Chhatrapati's murder)

Journalist Ramchandra Chhatarpati's son on court pronouncing quantum of sentence to Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh: This is the triumph of truth, I feel relieved today. Prosecution had demanded capital punishment but we're satisfied with the punishment.

It is believed that Chhatrapati was murdered after an anonymous letter published by him in his daily prompted the Punjab and Haryana High Court to launch an inquiry into allegations of sexual exploitation against the self-styled godman and Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

DSS accused

After he was shot on 24 October 2002, Ram Chander Chhatrapati was shifted to Apollo Hospital in New Delhi where he succumbed to gunshot wounds on 21 November 2002. His family sought a CBI inquiry into his death in 2003 which led to the premier agency probing Chhatrapati's death. CBI filed a chargesheet in this regard in July of 2007.