Jailed For Rape Of Sadhwis, Dera Sacha Gurmeet Now Faces CBI Trial For Murders 

Chandigarh: The disgraced 50-year-old Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is now facing trial by a CBI court in two murder cases. The trial which began on Saturday will continue on a daily basis till the final verdict. Gurmeet appeared before the special CBI court in Chandigarh through video conferencing from Rohtak jail where he is currently serving his 20 years jail sentence in two rape cases.

The CBI court is hearing the cases of murder of former Dera chief Ranjit Singh and journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.

The hearing in the cases against Ram Rahim, who is lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak, will be conducted through video conferencing due to security reasons.

Contingents of paramilitary troops and the Haryana Police have been stationed in Panchkula to prevent any untoward incident, a top police official said.

Ram Rahim was sentenced to 20 years in jail on August 28 in the two rape cases by the special CBI court.

Several parts of north India including Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan had witnessed large-scale violence following his conviction in the two rape cases on August 25.

While 41 people were killed in Haryana in the violence, no deaths were reported from Punjab and Rajasthan.

CBI counsel HPS Verma said, "The final arguments in the two murders cases will be conducted one after another."

Sirsa-based journalist Chhatrapati was shot at in October 2002 after the evening newspaper 'Poora Sach', owned by him, published an anonymous letter narrating how women were allegedly being sexually exploited by the sect head at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa. He later succumbed to his injuries.

The second case relates to the murder of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh who was allegedly shot dead in 2002. He was murdered for his suspected role in the circulation of the anonymous letter, which had made the sexual exploitation allegations, according to the prosecution

The Punjab and Haryana High Court had in November 2003 ordered a CBI probe into the murder of Chhatrapati and Ranjit Singh after the families of both the victims approached the court.

The CBI had filed the charge sheet in the murder cases on July 30, 2007.