By Kiran Galani
The leader of the spiritual organization Dera Sacha Sauda, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, was finally convicted of rape by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Friday. The case had been open since 2002; 15 years ago. Soon after the verdict was announced, several Dera followers went on a destructive rampage across Haryana, Chattisgarh, Punjab, and Delhi which resulted in the deaths of 31 people and left over 250 people injured.
The case
The case started when a Dera sadhvi wrote an anonymous letter to the then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee accusing Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of raping her as well as several other female followers. The Punjab and Haryana high courts directed the CBI to register a sexual exploitation case against the Dera chief in 2002. The CBI questioned over 18 sadhvis and two of them levelled allegations of rape against the spiritual leader. One sadhvi even said that her rape was justified because it purified her.
Both sadhvis who said they were raped recorded their statements before the court and reiterated that they were raped. Their statements are part of the CBI chargesheet which was filed on July 30, 2007, in the special CBI court. The trial against Gurmeet Ram Rahim commenced soon after that. On September 6, 2008, he was charged under Section 376 (rape) and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
However, the Dera chief has consistently debunked these charges, calling them false and baseless because he is “not capable of” engaging in physical relations. He is also facing trial in two separate murder cases. The first is for the murder of Dera follower Ranjit Singh in July 2002 who had helped circulate the sadhvi’s anonymous letters and of journalist Ram Chander Chattrapati who had reported on the illegal activities going on within the Dera and was killed in October that same year.
The verdict and the riots that followed
Soon after Ram Rahim Singh was pronounced guilty, he was immediately taken into judicial custody. He will receive his sentence on Monday.
Following the release of the verdict, thousands of followers of Ram Rahim went on a rampage, setting fire to vehicles, railway stations, and buildings. The unrest began in Panchkula where the verdict was handed down but quickly spread to other parts of Haryana, Punjab, and even New Delhi where a bus and train were set on fire. Haryana DGP B S Sandhu told NDTV news that over a thousand Dera followers had been taken into custody. “Dera followers have been flushed out of Panckula while over a thousand have been taken into preventive custody,” Sandhu said, adding that the situation is now under control.
Curfew was clamped in several towns including Mansa, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Patiala, Sangrur and Barnala and Faridkot, the areas considered to be strongholds of Dera followers.
But the curfew had little effect on the protesters, who also set fire to Malout and Balluanna railway stations in Punjab, according to the Northern Railways. Many motorcycles, cars, and buildingsincluding an Income Tax building in Mansa in Punjabwere also set on fire. The army was soon called in to help control the mobs.
All of this happened despite the fact that just two hours before the verdict, the Punjab and Haryana high court told the Haryana government it can go ahead and use force when required and file FIRs against any Gurmeet Ram Rahim follower breaking the law or making provocative statements.
The legal system changing for the better
Despite the horrific destruction and loss of life, there are a lot of aspects of the case to be appreciative of in this scenario. The legal system in India is definitely taking strides forward making several efficient decisions over the past week. Soon after the destruction and chaos took place, the Punjab and Haryana High Courts ruled that all the loss of property caused by the protests would be reimbursed by the Dera itself. Even besides that, they have made several other important decisions this week including the discontinuation of the Talaq rule and endorsing the Right to Privacy.
Perhaps these decisions herald an era of a better and more efficient legal system in India.
Featured Image Source: NDTV News