Sacha Sauda Dera chief moves Punjab and Haryana High Court

Chandigarh: High-profile Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on Monday filed an appeal in the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging his rape conviction by the CBI special court. The appeal, filed through his counsel S K Garg, is yet to be listed by the court for hearing. In another development, the CBI court in Panchkula today dismissed the application filed by Khatta Singh, former driver of the so-called godman, to reappear as witness against the sect chief in the murder cases of former dera manager Ranjit Singh and journalist Ram Chander Chatarpati.

Ram Rahim, who was awarded 20 years rigorous imprisonment on August 25 by the Central Bureau of Investigation court in Panchkula in the rape cases, is lodged in the Rohtak district jail at Sunaria. A fine of over Rs 30 lakh was also imposed on the sect head by the CBI court. As many as 40 people lost their lives and 264 suffered injuries in Punjab and Haryana in violence after the conviction of the dera chief. (UNI)