Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Saturday acquitted rape convict and Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the murder case of journalist Ramchandra Chhatrapati, his lawyer confirmed.
Ram Rahim had been accused of orchestrating the killing of Chhatrapati, a journalist based in Sirsa, who had openly criticised the Dera chief in his newspaper.
In 2019, a Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court had convicted Ram Rahim and sentenced him to life imprisonment in the case. Three others — Kuldeep Singh, Nirmal Singh and Krishan Lal — were also found guilty and awarded life imprisonment along with a fine of ₹50,000 each.
On Saturday, a division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Vikram Aggarwal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court delivered the verdict acquitting Ram Rahim in the case.
However, Ram Rahim continues to serve a 20-year prison sentence since 2017 and is currently lodged in Sunaria Jail after being convicted of raping two of his disciples.
Following his conviction in the rape case on August 25, 2017, more than 40 people were killed and dozens injured after violence erupted in Panchkula and other parts of Haryana when his followers clashed with security forces.
Meanwhile, in 2024, the Punjab and Haryana High Court also acquitted Ram Rahim and four others in the 2002 murder case of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh. Earlier, a Special CBI court in Panchkula had sentenced all the accused, including Ram Rahim, to life imprisonment in that case.
Ranjit Singh, a resident of Khanpur Kolian, was shot dead on July 10, 2002 while working in his fields in the village in Kurukshetra.
Notably, Ram Rahim was released from jail in January this year after being granted a 40-day parole. His repeated temporary releases have often drawn political criticism and raised security concerns.