SGPC Calls Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s Acquittal Unfortunate

On 28 May, the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted Gurmeet Ram Rahim, head of Dera Sacha Sauda, on the murder of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh in 2002. However, he will remain imprisoned in a jail in Rohtak, Haryana, as a result of convictions in two other criminal cases. In Aug 2017, Gurmit was convicted of two counts of rape. In Jan 2019, he was convicted for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. Apex Sikh body, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has termed the acquittal unfortunate. SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami said that Gurmeet ‘with an immoral character and accused of hurting the religious sentiments of Sikhs should not receive any kind of relief.’ Dhami stated that the BJP-led govt. Of Haryana already has Gurmeet, the main accused in the 2015 case of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib, ignoring the norms; now the Ranjit Singh murder verdict is also unsatisfactory. The SGPC said they respect the courts but the SGPC, being a representative body of Sikhs, is ready to provide support to the family of Ranjit Singh in the murder case against Gurmeet (SDW Vol. 2 Issue 12, Story 6). Meanwhile, in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh (UP), the kidnapping and rape case of a minor daughter of a granthi has caused the head of the Akal Takht to issue an ultimatum to UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath to expedite the arrest of all accused, warning him that if police fail, the Sikh community will be forced to take action at its own level.