A day after Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan was convicted by a Panchkula court of raping a woman at his ashram, a sting carried out jointly by India TV and Tehelka has surfaced on social media.
The sting, which dates back to 2007, shows Singh's driver Khatta Singh talking to a reporter about the Dera chief's misdeeds.
In December 2006, Khatta Singh gave a statement regarding Ram Rahim's misdeeds to the DSP. In the sting, he purportedly tells the reporter that the self-styled godman killed his chief aide, Ranjit Singh, to cover his tracks.
Ranjit Singh was the brother of a woman who was allegedly raped by the self-styled godman. According to the report, the Dera head killed Ranjit, on 10 July 2002, on the suspicion that he leaked the anonymous letter – that the woman had written to then PM Atal Bihari Vajypayee, accusing Gurmeet Ram Rahim of rape.
After Ranjit found out about the rape, he started visiting the Dera less frequently. Meanwhile, the High Court handed the probe over to the CBI. At first, the Dera sent some men over to placate him, so they could finish the matter then. But when that did not happen, they got scared as to Ranjit might turn against the Dera at a time when a probe was on. Also, his sister knew everything... so they thought it better to finish him off.
It was the letter in question that led the high court to hand over the case to the CBI, which led to his eventual conviction. The letter, accessed by India TV, accused Ram Rahim of raping several women. The author of the letter describes an episode where the Dera head had called upon her for sexual favours one night, while a revolver lay beside him.
When I objected, Mahraj said there was no doubt about the fact that he was god
The Dera head has been charged with Ranjit’s murder, and the case is pending in the same Panchkula CBI court that delivered the verdict in the rape case against him on 25 August.
(#TalkingStalking: Have you ever been stalked? Share your experience with The Quint and inspire others to shatter the silence surrounding stalking. Send your stories to editor@thequint.com or WhatsApp @ +919999008335.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)