DERA CHIEF GIVEN LIFER FOR KILLING JOURNO
Panchkula (Haryana), Jan. 17: A special CBI court in Panchkula on Thursday sentenced selfstyled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and three others to life imprisonment for the murder of a journalist over 16 years ago.
The Dera Sacha Sauda chief and the three others convicted last Friday in the case appeared before the court through video conferencing.
Panchkula, Jan. 17: A special CBI court in Panchkula Thursday sentenced self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and three others to life imprisonment for the murder of a journalist over 16 years ago.
The Dera Sacha Sauda chief and the three others — Nirmal Singh, Kuldeep Singh and Krishan Lal — appeared before the court through video conferencing.
“All four have been sentenced to life imprisonment,” CBI counsel H P S Verma said. The court has imposed a fine of
`50,000 on each convict, he said, adding that it has also awarded three-year sentence to Nirmal Singh and Krishan Lal under the Arms Act along with a fine of `5,000 each.
Both sentences would run concurrently, Verma said.
On January 11, special CBI Court judge Jagdeep Singh had convicted the four men for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati in
2002. All the four were convicted under Section
302 (murder) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
Ram Rahim appeared through video conferencing from Sunaria jail in Rohtak, where he is already serving a 20-yearsentence in a rape case. The three others appeared from Ambala jail.
“The life sentence of Ram Rahim will start after he completes his 20year jail term in the rape case,” said the CBI counsel, stating that it was a law under Section 427 of the CrPC.
As per Section 427 of the Code Of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, when a person already undergoing a sentence of imprisonment is sentenced on a subsequent conviction to imprisonment for life, such imprisonment shall commence at the expiration of the imprisonment to which he has been previously sentenced.
The journalist was killed in Haryana’s Sirsa in October 2002 after his newspaper published an anonymous letter alleging sexual exploitation of women by the godman at the Dera headquarters in the same town.
Journalist was killed after his newspaper published letter alleging sexual exploitation of women by the godman at the Dera headquarters