Chandigarh: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, convicted of raping two women disciples, was on Monday August 28 sentenced to ten years in jail.
Special CBI judge Jagdeep Singh allotted 10 minutes each to both sides to put forth their arguments.
The prosecution demanded maximum punishment for Ram Rahim Singh, while the defence lawyer, S K Garg Narwana argued that the judge should take a lenient view since the Dera Sauda chief has worked for the welfare of people.
According to reports, Ram Rahim broke down in the court as the quantum of punishment was read out.
After the sentencing, Ram Rahim was taken for a medical check-up, given a jail uniform and put in a cell.
Reports of sporadic violence trickled through even before the sentence was read out. Two cars were torched by Dera Sacha Sauda supporters in Phoolka area of Haryana’s Sirsa, the sect’s headquarters.
The quantum of punishment was pronounced by a CBI court specially set up inside the jail premises in Sunaria, about 70 km from Delhi, where Ram Rahim has been lodged after his conviction on Friday.
Fearing a repeat of the violence that erupted soon after the court’s verdict in the rape case on August 25, in which over 30 people died, the authorities in Haryana on Monday issued shoot at sight orders in and around the District Jail near Rohtak ahead of Ram Rahim’s sentencing.
Chairperson of the Dera, Vipassana Insan, has appealed to followers to peacefully abide by the judgement.
Earlier in the day, Rohtak range Inspector General (IG) of Police Navdeep Singh Virk said: “We are on top of the situation. Adequate security arrangements are in place. If anyone tries to disobey the law, he will be shot at.”
Virk said 28 companies of paramilitary forces, along with Haryana Police personnel, have been deployed in Rohtak.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court judge Jagdeep Singh, who had on Friday held the Dera chief guilty of rape and criminal intimidation of two of his female disciples in 2002, was flown to Rohtak on Monday for announcing the sentence.
The sect chief has been convicted on two counts for rape (Section 376 IPC), criminal intimidation (Section 506 IPC) and Section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman).
The minimum punishment for rape is seven years which may extend till life (term). The other sections have imprisonment for two and one years, respectively.
The district jail premises, about 10 km from Rohtak town, have been completely cordoned off by security forces, including the paramilitary and Haryana Police.
The Army has been kept on stand-by. No movement of people, other than those authorized, will be allowed within a distance of 10 km from the prison premises.
“We are fully prepared for any situation. The Army has been kept on stand-by,” Haryana Director General of police (DGP) B.S. Sandhu said.
The security forces in Haryana and Punjab were again on high alert on Monday as both states braced for the sentencing.
Curfew continued to be in place on Monday in Haryana’s Sirsa town, where the sect’s headquarters are located. The sect has lakhs of followers in the two states.
(Agencies)
