Security beefed up ahead of sentencing against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in journalist murder case

SIRSA: Ahead of sentencing against Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in journalist Ram Chander Chhatarpati murder case on Thursday, Haryana police beefed up the security in Panchkula and neighbouring regions.

The head of the Sirsa-based sect along with three other persons were convicted for murdering Chhatarpati by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Court in Panchkula last week. The three other persons convicted in the case are Nirmal Singh, Kuldeep Singh and Krishan Lal. 

The 51-year-old self-styled godman had appeared for the verdict via video conferencing from Rohtak jail where he's currently lodged. He had been named as the key conspirator in the case dating back to 2002.

Singh is already serving a 20-year sentence for raping two 'sadhvis' or female followers in 2002. Following the conviction of the 50-year-old self-styled godman in August 2017 in the rape case, riots broke out in Panchkula and several parts of north India.

Chhatrapati was shot at in October 2002 after his newspaper, 'Poora Sach', published an anonymous letter narrating how the 'sadhvis' were being sexually exploited by Singh at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa. The journalist later succumbed to injuries and a case was registered in 2003. CBI took over the case in 2006.