Gurmeet Ram Rahim, 4 others acquitted in Dera manager murder case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four others in the murder case of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh, India Today reported on Tuesday. The High Court passed the order while allowing an appeal filed by Gurmeet Ram Rahim against his conviction.

The court also acquitted other accused Avtar Singh, Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, and Sabdil Singh. One of the accused passed away during the trial.

In 2019, Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted by a CBI court in Panchkula in a rape case and two murder cases related to the killing of a journalist and former Dera manager Ranjit Singh. On October 18, 2021, the court handed Ram Rahim and four others life imprisonment in the case.

The Dera chief challenged all the convictions before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. His appeals in the rape case and the journalist murder case are still pending. Ram Rahim is currently confined in Rohtak's Sunaria jail.

(With inputs from Aman Kumar Bhardwaj)