UPDATED
20 years in jail for Dera chief Ram Rahim Singh, not 10 years
ROHTAK, HARYANA/ AMN
Special CBI court in Rohtak today gave 10 years Jail to Dera Sachh Sauda Chief GURMEET RAM RAHIM in rape case. Judge Jagdeep Singh arrived on a government helicopter at the Rohtak prison where Ram Rahim is being held and heared the arguments there.
Before CBI judge Jagdeep Singh read out the sentence, dera followers burnt two cars in Sirsa. Last week, 38 people were killed in the subsequent violence after the court held him guilty of raping two of his followers.
The dera chief was convicted of rape on August 25. CBI judge Jagdeep Singh was flown to Sunaria Jail, where a special court room was set up for pronouncing the quantum of sentence in the case.
A three-tier security ring has been installed around Rohtak’s Sunaria district jail.
Thousands of soldiers are guarding the prison and the army is on stand by. Over a lakh of Ram Rahim’s followers had gathered in Panchkula, where he was convicted on Friday, and they erupted in violence that left 38 people dead and over 200 injured. No supporters have been allowed near the Rohtak prison or into the city, the police have said.
Earlier Locals in Rohtak have been asked to stay indoors as a preventive measure ahead of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s sentencing. All schools and colleges are closed in Haryana, and some also in neighbouring Punjab. The chief of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect was flown out of Panchkula in a helicopter after his conviction as his followers broke into rioting and arson. To prevent a repeat, the judge came to deliver the sentence at the Rohtak prison today.
The Centre has said, security has been tightened in the national capital. The Delhi Police is fully alert to foil any attempt to disturb peace.
The Dera Chief was convicted by a CBI court in Panchkula on Friday following which violence had erupted in Haryana and neighboring states. 38 people were killed and around 250 injured in the violence.