When self-styled Indian guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was jailed for 20 years he wept and pleaded for mercy. That was bit too late! At least 38 people were killed and 100 were injured in riots following Singh’s conviction.
An estimated 4,000 government troops are also patrolling the small town where the sprawling headquarters of his Dera Sacha Sauda sect is based to prevent possible future riots. A spokeswoman for the sect, headed by the 50-year-old controversial goodman having more than one million followers, has urged his devotees to respect the court’s order.
Court also imposed a fine of Rs. 30 lakh (around US$45,000) on dera chief (Rs. 15 lakh in each of the case of two rapes that he committed). The fine shall be payable Rs. 15 lakh each to both the rape victims.
The Hindustan Times reports that the rape allegations stem from a three-page anonymous letter written in 2002 by a dera follower. The letter accused the guru, who is also known as ‘Bling Bling Guru’ in the media, of rampant sexual misconduct with followers at his ashram in Sirsa. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opened an investigation. Eighteen followers were questioned. One victim reported that “when she entered the dera chief’s sprawling chamber, the doors automatically closed and she found him watching a pornographic movie on a big screen.”
Amid fears of further clashes, the judge flew to the prison where ‘The Messenger of God or MSG’ is being held to deliver the sentence. Security was tightened at the jail in the northern town of Rohtak. Roads were lined with barbed-wire barricades and the prison’s library was turned into a makeshift courtroom.
MSG’s group often campaigns in favour of vegetarianism and against drug addiction, and regularly organises blood donation and tree-planting drives.
In 2015, Singh started a film franchise portraying himself as “Messenger of God” – performing miracles, preaching to thousands and beating up gangsters while singing and dancing and bringing down alien crafts with bows and arrows.
Since the deadly violence began, there has been a public outcry over Singh’s close connection to the corridors of power, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which runs the government at the federal level, as well as in Haryana state.
In the 2014 Haryana assembly election, Singh issued a public statement calling on his followers to vote for the BJP. The state’s chief minister and other ministers have shared a stage with him despite the fact that he was under investigation for rape.
In a 2014 tweet, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded Singh’s sect’s efforts to take part in a campaign to clean up the streets. Singh also lent tacit support to the opposition Congress party in 2007.
In Haryana and Punjab state, there are tens of thousands of sects known as deras. A dera is a spiritual centre headed by living gurus. Deras often attract members of the most disadvantaged castes, whether Hindu or Sikh.
In Punjab, where one-third of the population are Dalits, the most disadvantaged caste, whose members often face daily discrimination, there are more than 10,000 deras. – (Internet files and Youtube)
