Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

The Dera head

The case against the Dera chief

Special CBI court convicts Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in rape case

NEW DELHI:was found guilty of rape by a special CBI court in Panchkula , Haryana, on Friday. He was immediately taken into judicial custody; he will be sentenced on Monday.was present in court when the judgment was read out.Following which thousands of followers of Ram Rahim, who is the head of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda , went on the rampage, setting fire to vehicles, buildings and railway stations soon after a special CBI court convicted him in a 2002 rape case Police responded by opening fire.The unrest which began in Panchkula where the verdict was handed down, spread to other parts of Haryana and Punjab and even New Delhi where a bus and train were set on fire."Seventeen people are dead and at least 200 are injured," said Vivek Bhadu, Chief Medical Officer at the civil hospital in Panchkula. Another seven deaths were recorded at PGIMER hospital in Chandigarh and four at Government Medical College in Chandigarh, officials said.Bhadu said that most of the deaths were due to bullet injuries.Haryana DGP B S Sandhu, who visited the civil hospital at Sector 6 here, said that over a thousand Dera followers have been taken into custody."Dera followers have been flushed out of Panchkula while over a thousand have been taken into preventive custody," Sandhu said, adding the situation here is under control.A stream of ambulances brought in injured people soaked in blood to the civil hospital here and at PGIMER hospital.Police fired in the air, lobbed tear gas and let loose water cannons on the protesters who included a large number of women.Curfew was also clamped in Panchkula.Curfew is also in place in Sirsa while Kaithal town was also brought under curfew this evening.At least 32 incidents of violence and arson were reported from Malwa region of Punjab, police said. However, no casualty was reported.Curfew was clamped in Mansa, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Patiala, Sangrur and Barnala and Faridkot, the areas considered as stronghold of the Dera followers.But the curfew had little effect on the protesters, who also set fire to Malout and Balluanna railway stations in Punjab, according to the Northern Railways. Many motorcycles, cars and buildings, including an Income Tax building in Mansa in Punjab, were also set on fire.Arsonists attempted to set fire to Dagru railway station which falls between Moga and Ferozepur, police said.However, a Sewa Kendra was set on fire near Faridkot.Six columns of Army, comprising a total of 500 to 600 soldiers were deployed in Panchkula.At least three OB vans of private television channels were damaged here. Two vans were overturned by a mob.The India Today Group's TV channel showed pictures of its correspondent and cameraman being attacked while they were travelling in a van in Sirsa, the Dera's headquarters. The camera captured images of the windshield and windows being struck by men with sticks.The glass shattered and one of the occupants of the van was heard moaning. The video then showed his bloodied face.The police fired in the air and lobbed tear gas shells on sections of the crowds, many of them camping since last night on the streets of Panchkula.CBI judge Jagdeep Singh, while holding the Dera chief guilty of raping a female follower more than 15 years ago, said the quantum of sentence would be pronounced on August 28.The punishment can be a jail term of not less than seven years but may even extend to life imprisonment.The court delivered its verdict in the case against the 50-year-old Dera chief after 14 long years and amid unprecedented security as thousands of Dera followers gathered in Panchkula ahead of the judgment.In fact, just two hours before the verdict, the Punjab and Haryana high court told the Haryana government it can go ahead and use force when required and file FIRs against any Gurmeet Ram Rahim follower breaking the law or making provocative statements.Haryana's chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Friday his government was ready to deal with any fallout from the verdict."Whatever the verdict, will implement it. Ready to deal with any circumstances, security arrangements are in place, I appeal for peace and calm," said Khattar.In 2002, the Punjab and Haryana high court took suo motu cognizance - action of its own accord - of the sadhvi's letter to then PM Vajpayee, and directed the CBI to register a sexual exploitation case against the Dera chief in 2002. The case was then handed over to the CBI.The investigating agency questioned 18 sadhvis and two of them levelled allegations of rape against the spiritual leader.Their statements are part of the CBI chargesheet which was filed on July 30, 2007, in the CBI special court.One of the sadhvis said in her statement, that when she entered the Dera chief's sprawling chamber, the doors automatically closed and she found him watching a pornographic movie on a big screen. The CBI is said to be banking heavily on this statement as only a select few have access to that chamber.The trial against Gurmeet Ram Rahim commenced in 2008 and on September 6, 2008, he was charged under Section 376 (rape) and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.The Dera chief consistently called the charges false and baseless and has told the court that he is "not capable of" engaging in physical relations.He is also facing trial in two separate murder cases- those of Dera follower Ranjit Singh and of journalist Ram Chander Chattrapati.