The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday asked Khatta Singh, a former driver of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim Singh, to file an affidavit with regard to what he wants to say in connection with the murder of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh. The single bench has listed the matter for 6 October.
On 16 September, Ram Rahim appeared via video-conferencing before special CBI judge Jagdeep Singh in Panchkula, for two murder cases in which he was named the chief conspirator. He was implicated in the murders of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh and journalist Ramchandra Chhatrapati.
The Dera Sacha Sauda chief was put behind bars after he was sentenced to 20 years in prison in two rape cases.
Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday asked Khatta Singh, a former driver of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, to file an affidavit with regard to what he wanted to say in connection with the murder of Ranjit Singh.
The single bench has listed the matter for 6 October. Khatta Singh's counsel Navkiran Singh said:
On 29 September, Khatta Singh had moved the court seeking to record fresh statements in the Ranjit Singh murder case.
On 25 September, a special CBI court in Panchkula had dismissed the plea of Khatta Singh, seeking to record a fresh statement. Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, facing 20 years of imprisonment in a 2002 case of raping two disciples, has been named as the key conspirator in the Ranjit Singh murder case.
Murder cases of Ranjit Singh and Ramchandra Chhatrapati against Gurmeet Ram Rahim will next be heard by the CBI Court on 25 September and 27 October, respectively.
Ram Rahim’s former driver Khatta Singh filed an application in the CBI special court today, to re-record his statement.
Singh was a witness in the murder cases against Ram Rahim and had recorded his statement in 2007. However, he had turned hostile in 2012 allegedly owing to pressure from ‘baba and his goons’.
Speaking to ANI, he said that he was scared that ‘they’ would kill him and his son.
The court will hear the application on 22 September.
A special CBI court has begun the hearing in two murder cases against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in Panchkula. The court is hearing the cases of the murders of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and former Dera manager Ranjit Singh.
Haryana Director General of Police BS Sandhu that adequate security arrangements have been made ahead of the two rape case hearings against Gurmeet Ram Rahim at a special CBI court in Chandigarh.
Ram Rahim was sentenced to 20 years in jail on 28 August in two rape cases by the special CBI Court.
Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in jail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on 28 August, on charges of raping two women.
The self-styled godman is currently lodged in Sunaria prison in Rohtak district.
Several parts of Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan witnessed large-scale violence following his conviction on 25 August by the CBI court.
While 41 people were killed in Haryana in the violence, no deaths were reported in Punjab and Rajasthan.
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 30 July 2007.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)