Ram Rahim Acquitted in Journalist Murder
Punjab and Haryana High Court overturns 2019 life sentence in Ram Chander Chhatrapati case
- Punjab and Haryana High Court acquits Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh
- Court overturns 2019 life sentence in journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati murder case
- Convictions of three other accused upheld by the court
- Victim’s family plans to challenge verdict in Supreme Court
GG News Bureau
Chandigarh, 7th March: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the 2002 murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.
A division bench led by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, along with Justice Vikram Aggarwal, set aside the life sentence awarded to Ram Rahim by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Panchkula in January 2019.
The high court heard appeals challenging the trial court’s verdict and cleared Ram Rahim of the charges, while upholding the convictions of three other accused in the case.
Ram Chander Chhatrapati, editor of the local newspaper Poora Sach, was shot outside his residence in Sirsa, Haryana, in October 2002. He had published an anonymous letter alleging sexual exploitation of female followers at the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa.
The journalist succumbed to his injuries several weeks after the attack.
The case was initially investigated by local police before being transferred to the CBI in 2006. The agency later named Ram Rahim as a conspirator in the killing.
Ram Rahim’s lawyer Jitender Khurana confirmed the acquittal following the court’s decision.
Despite the acquittal in this case, the Dera chief remains lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak, where he is serving a 20-year sentence after being convicted in 2017 for the rape of two of his disciples.
Reacting to the verdict, Anshul Chhatrapati, the son of the slain journalist, termed the decision a setback for the family.
He said the family would challenge the ruling in the Supreme Court and expected the CBI to also file an appeal.
This is the second time the Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted Ram Rahim in a major murder case linked to the Dera.
In May 2024, the court had cleared him and four others in the murder of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh, citing lapses in the investigation.
