It’s fresh trouble for controversial chief of Dera Sacha Sauda sect, Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has made him one of the accused in its charge sheets in two cases of murder and the rape of a woman devotee. The CBI charge sheets which mentioned names of some functionaries of the sect including its chief in the rape and murder charges were filed at the residence of special CBI court judge R N Bharti at Ambala in Haryana on Monday night a few hours before the expiry of the July 31 deadline set by Punjab and Haryana High court.
Hearing the case on Tuesday, the judge has summoned the sect chief and other accused to be present before the court on the next hearing on August 31.
The dera chief was “arrested” by a team of Punjab police which interrogated him at his Sirsa headquarter concerning a case filed at Bathinda for hurting the sentiments of Sikh community for attiring like Guru Gobind Singh. He was released on bail on a bond of one lakh rupees and his passport was confiscated.  The dera has been under fire from the Sikh community in Punjab ever since its chief appeared in public in an attire resembling that of the Sikh guru. The CBI’s charge sheets have signaled more trouble for the sect chief who had hogged the limelight for his support to the Congress in the February assembly polls in Punjab.
One of the charge sheets pertains to the murders of a Sirsa-based journalist, Ram Chander Chhatrapati in 2001 and a sect follower, Ranjit Singh in 2002 for highlighting the alleged wrongdoings including exploitation of women devotees inside the sprawling campus of the dera headquartered at Sirsa city of Haryana. Five of the dera followers were booked on murder charges in June.  Another charge sheet submitted by the CBI was regarding the rape of a woman devotee inside the dera.  The probe in the matter was initiated by the CBI at the instance of the Punjab and Haryana High Court some years ago after the court received an anonymous letter written by a female inmate of the dera which alleged sexual exploitation of women devotees at the dera by the sect chief.
One of the former drivers, Khatta  Singh, of the sect chief has reportedly provided crucial inputs to the CBI in rape and murder charges against the dera. However, with the Dera enjoying vast support in Punjab and Haryana. the pursuit of cases against the dera chief is likely to prove a headache for the Haryana government.
The dera followers have been known to be fanatical supporters of its chief with two of them recently immolating themselves in protest against cases lodged against him in Punjab. The Haryana government has already provided the ‘godman’ with Z-plus security cover.  The government has now asked for ten more companies of para-military forces from the centre to maintain law and order at Sirsa.