I was asked to close case against Dera chief, reveals ex-CBI officer

Thiruvananthapuram: In a major breakthrough, a former CBI officer who nailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh revealed that two senior officials a decade back handed him the case with specific orders 'to close it'.

Talking to IANS, now 67-year-old M. Narayanan, who retired in 2009 as joint director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, said on Monday he was lucky to be away from Delhi when the Dera chief`s conviction was finally taking place.

"It was in 2007 that this case was handed over to me by two senior officials and I was asked to close it," Narayanan said. The former CBI officer said for him it was just like any other case. 

"We went to his (Dera chief) place in Sirsa. Ram Rahim gave me 30 minutes time. He lives in a cave with all modern facilities. We reached there and grilled him for over three hours," said Narayanan, who is now leading a retired life in the northern Kerala district of Kasargode.

"I will never blame the two senior officials who asked me to close the case as there was a lot of pressure," Narayanan, currently holidaying in Karnataka, told IANS. 

"After hearing the verdict on August 25 (by a special CBI court in Haryana`s Panchkula), I feel justice has been done. One reason why it took a long time is generally in north India courts take a long time. I am neither excited nor overly happy, as for me it was a routine work," the former sleuth said. 

Talking to the news agency the former officer also remembered how in those days, while probing the terror cases, there was no mobile. He would be away for more than three months and at times even more and his wife would fret over his well being. 

"She would think -- If I was still alive? So all in my family knew the pressure I had to undergo," Narayanan told the agency. 

On being asked about Dera chief's sentencing, Narayanan said that the Dera chief might get a minimum of seven years imprisonment or perhaps even a life sentence. Narayanan has been part of several high profile cases during his career, including the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, Babri Masjid demolition, Kandahar plane hijacking, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir terrorist cases.

Meanwhile, the court proceedings against the rape convict are scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. today. Ahead of the proceedings, Inspector General (I.G.) of Police, Rohtak Range Navdeep Singh Virk said that few weapons were recovered from Bahalgarh's Dera Ashram in the Sonepat district, and that a search operation was underway.

The past few days in Panchkula, Sirsa and the neighbouring areas have witnessed a volatile situation, after Ram Rahim was convicted of rape charges.

After Ram Rahim's verdict announcement, at least 30 died in Panchkula, six in Sirsa, and 269 were injured due to violence by DSS chief's followers.

(With inputs from agencies)