Gurmeet Ram Rahim Acquitted in Decades-Old Murder Case: Investigation Flaws Cited

 

 Gurmeet Ram Rahim Acquitted in 22-Year-Old Murder Case Due to Investigation Lapses

Chandigarh: Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the chief of Dera Sacha Sauda, was acquitted today in a 22-year-old murder case. The Punjab and Haryana High Court cited investigation lapses and insufficient evidence against him.

The court identified several areas where the investigation was flawed, including issues with the murder weapon, ballistic reports, postmortem findings, and a polygraph test that did not support the prosecution's claims regarding the murder of former sect manager Ranjit Singh.

According to the bench of Justices Sureshwar Thakur and Lalit Batra, the investigation was influenced by media pressure, resulting in a "tainted and sketchy" probe. They emphasized the importance of courts conducting thorough and unbiased analyses of evidence.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim is currently serving a 20-year sentence for raping two of his disciples and is also implicated in a 16-year-old murder case.

Ranjit Singh was allegedly killed for his suspected involvement in the dissemination of an anonymous letter detailing the sexual exploitation of women at the Dera headquarters by Ram Rahim.

Despite the serious allegations, the court's findings revealed significant investigative shortcomings that undermined the prosecution's case.

Ram Rahim, accused of conspiracy along with four others, was convicted by a CBI court in Panchkula, Haryana, in October 2021 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He is currently incarcerated in Haryana's Rohtak.

The 2017 conviction of Gurmeet Ram Rahim in the rape cases led to widespread violence and arson in Punjab and Haryana, resulting in 30 deaths and over 250 injuries, necessitating the deployment of the Army to restore order.