Rohtak: Self-styled spiritual guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the rape of two women followers.
The 50-year-old chief of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect wept and pleaded for forgiveness as he was sentenced at a jail in Haryana’s Rohtak by Judge Jagdeep Singh, who flew down by government helicopter to conduct a prison-side court hearing.
Thousands of soldiers are guarding the prison and the army is on standby. Security has been tightened in Sirsa, where the sect is headquartered, and in Panchkula, where Ram Rahim’s supporters erupted in violence after he was convicted on August 25. At least 38 people died and over 200 were injured.
The two women who accused Ram Rahim of raping them 15 years ago, have said they will appeal for life imprisonment for him. The CBI has already moved an application for a longer prison term for the Dera chief and will press other charges against him, sources said.
“Mujhe maaf kardo (Please forgive me),” said Ram Rahim as he broke down in the court, ndtv.com reported.
His lawyers, who today pleaded for a lighter sentence in view of what they called his humanitarian work, have said they will appeal in a higher court.
The Dera chief will be sent for a medical examination and then given a prison uniform before allotting him a jail cell. Since August 25, when he was flown from Panchkula to Rohtak in a luxury helicopter, Ram Rahim occupied a special cell and was given bottled water and was allowed an assistant, amid massive criticism.
Haryana Chief Minister M L Khattar has called for an emergency meeting with top ministers, bureaucrats and police officers at his home in Chandigarh and has appealed for peace.
Judge Singh delivered sentence at the Rohtak prison to prevent a repeat of violence.
More than 150,000 of Ram Rahim’s followers had gathered in Panchkula before the verdict. Violent protests followed across his power base in Haryana, with police deploying tear gas and water cannons, with little impact. It was clear the authorities grossly underestimated the risk posed by the army of Ram Rahim’s devotees.
Thousands of paramilitary troops and anti-riot police have blocked off all roads near the Rohtak prison. Military sources said the Army can enter Rohtak in about an hour if needed. Rohtak’s residents were warned to stay indoors and large gatherings were banned in the city. All schools and colleges in Haryana were closed.
Senior members of Ram Rahim’s Dera Sacha Sauda sect were placed under detention as a precautionary measure. Over the weekend, more than 100 branches of the sect were sanitized and sealed across Haryana. Petrol cans and sticks were found stockpiled.
The police in Sirsa, where Ram Rahim’s 1,000- acre main base is located, have urged tens of thousands of devotees to emerge from the campus. Nearly 10,000 devotees have been cleared so far.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 27 warned that “Violence is not acceptable in the nation, in any form.” But his party, the BJP, which governs Haryana, has come under heavy fire for failing to prevent the outbreak of violence and allowing the godman to travel in a luxury chopper to jail.
The flamboyant Ram Rahim is known as the “guru in bling” because of his penchant for bejeweled costumes and customized superbikes. His followers continue to insist upon his innocence. “Our father can never do any sin,” devotee Trilok Insaan said ahead of the sentence at a shop in Sirsa, adorned with posters of a heavily-bearded Ram Rahim.
CBI has moved an application for a longer jail term for Ram Rahim.