Sunaria jail told to ensure Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim's presence in court hearing

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, April 21

In two sacrilege cases, the Court of Judicial Magistrate, Faridkot, has directed the Superintendent of the Central Jail, Sunaria (Rohtak), to ensure the presence of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the head of Dera Sacha Sauda, before the court through video-conferencing on May 4.

The court said the presence of the accused was required in two criminal cases registered at the Bajakhana police station in 2015. It observed that the superintendent had failed to produce the dera chief before the court on the last date of hearing. The dera chief was lodged in the Sunaria jail after his conviction in two criminal cases.

Sacrilege cases

• On the basis of a supplementary challan given by the police on February 27, the dera chief was named as an accused in two criminal cases.
• These cases relate to pasting of derogatory posters near a gurdwara in Bargari and scattering torn pages of ‘bir’ of Guru Granth Sahib at Bargari in September and October, 2015.

On the basis of a supplementary challan given by the police on February 27 in the court here, the dera chief was named as an accused in two criminal cases. These cases relate to pasting of derogatory posters near a gurdwara in Bargari and scattering torn pages of “bir” of Guru Granth Sahib at Bargari in September and October, 2015.

On October 25, 2021, the court had issued a production warrant against the dera chief. However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court stayed the orders of physical production. The High Court had observed that an investigation team could go to the Sunaria jail for questioning the dera chief. Later, a Punjab police team had visited the jail and questioned the dera chief in November and December last year.

About the presence of the accused (through video-conferencing), the court said it was necessary to supply the copies of the challan to the accused for further proceedings in the case.

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