Punjab & Haryana HC Acquits Ram Rahim in 2002 Journalist Murder

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday acquitted Gurmeet Ram Rahim, chief of Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS), in the 2002 murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.

Chhatrapati was shot at point-blank range outside his residence on October 24, 2002. The incident took place months after his newspaper published an anonymous letter that alleged women living in the dera as sadhvis were sexually harassed and raped by the dera chief.

In January 2019, a special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Panchkula had convicted Ram Rahim and three others in the case. The court sentenced them to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹50,000 each.

Following the conviction, Ram Rahim and the other accused challenged the verdict in the high court in 2019, claiming they had been falsely implicated in the case.

After hearing the appeals, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has now set aside the earlier verdict and acquitted Ram Rahim in the murder case.

Despite this acquittal, Ram Rahim continues to serve a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2017 in two rape cases. He is currently lodged in Sunaria Jail.

Earlier, in May 2024, the high court had also acquitted him in the 2002 murder case of former dera manager Ranjit Singh.

Ram Rahim is also named in several FIRs related to the 2015 sacrilege incidents in Punjab, which are still under investigation by authorities.

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