Gurmeet Ram Rahim, chief of Dera Sacha Sauda, was acquitted in a 22-year-old murder case today, with the Punjab and Haryana High Court citing lapses in investigation and lack of solid evidence against the accused.
The court also listed the areas in which investigation was "tainted and sketchy" -- including the weapon used for the murder, ballistic reports, post-mortem report, and polygraph test which did not bear out the prosecution claims in the murder of former sect manager Ranjit Singh.
Influenced by media glare, the investigating officer(s) "carried out a tainted and sketchy investigation into the crime," said the bench of Justices Sureshwar Thakur and Lalit Batra.
The case "is a stark portrayal of the necessity of Courts of law making an incisive and objective analyses of the evidence as exist on record," the judges said.
Ram Rahim is serving a 20-year-sentence for raping two of his disciples and has a 16-year-old murder case against him as well.
Ranjit Singh was killed allegedly for his suspected role in the circulation of an anonymous letter, which said how women were being sexually exploited by Ram Rahim at the Dera headquarters.
Ram Rahim, who was accused of conspiracy, and four others were convicted by a CBI court in Panchkula, Haryana, in October 2021 and given life imprisonment. He is currently in jail at Haryana's Rohtak.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim's conviction in 2017 in the rape cases sparked massive violence and arson in parts of Punjab and Haryana. Thirty people died, more than 250 were injured and the Army had to be called in.
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