Now, rape victims seek life imprisonment for Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

A month after a special CBI court sentenced Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for 20 years in prison on charges of rape, a plea has been filed in Punjab and Haryana High Court today seeking his life imprisonment. The victims, two former devotees of the Dera chief, approached the HC requesting to extend the imprisonment of the godman to life imprisonment.

The Dera chief was found guilty of raping his two female followers, in a case which was filed based on an anonymous complaint in April 2002. The CBI registered a case in December 2002.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been sentenced for rigorous imprisonment for 10 years each in  both cases in which he was found guilty of sexually abusing his female devotees in his sprawling headquarters at Sirsa.

During the trial, the special court had addressed the Dera chief as a wild beast. Following this, the court had also charged him with a fine of Rs 15 lakh in each case. Of this Rs 14 lakh each would go to the victims, who were forced to have sex with him.

Defending himself in the court, Ram Rahim claimed that he was 'impotent', just to prove that there was no way he would have raped the Sadhvis in 1999.

But the judge snubbed Singh's claim by quoting one of the witnesses who said that the Dera chief had two daughters.

Meanwhile, Honeypreet Insan, who calls herself the adopted daughter of Ram Rahim, was arrested for inciting violence in Panchkula following the Dera chief's conviction on August 25.

The arrest of Honeypreet came soon after she appeared in two of the private news channels where she giving interview to reporters.