Gurmeet Ram Rahim not only raised a private army of castrated followers and had a qurbani dal (sacrifice group) working for his own protection, he also employed a group of henchwomen who lured and coerced innocent girls into satisfying his sexual needs.

These henchwomen, forgetting that they too had undergone the same trauma once, acted like programmed robots and accepted every command given to them to bring a new girl every night to gratify the physical needs of the controversial godman who did not spare even children.

Sources told India Today that Gurmeet Ram Rahim not only abused girls, but also enjoyed consensual sex with some senior female followers, who were close to him and lived the way he wanted. Later, they became his trusted henchwomen and started luring other innocent women for him. It is also alleged that some politicians and officials were also regulars at Dera Sacha Sauda and were pleased with wine, women and money.

Ram Rahim's henchwomen behaved like unemotional human robots, who just did his bidding and weren't moved by the countless screams of girls whose voices drowned in the den (gufa) where he raped and abused them. This arrangement continued until the law took its course and put Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in prison, which he had evaded for 15 long years, being hand-in-glove with Haryana's politicians.

GURMEET'S HENCHWOMEN WOULD PUSH GIRLS INTO HIS DEN

Former Dera followers, including women, recount the horrific accounts of the rape victims. One of them, who was raped twice, had told the CBI that she used to guard Ram Rahim's cave and had seen many girls leave the Gufa with tears in their eyes. She had named eight girls in her statement. They had warned her not to go inside the cave, but did not tell what actually happened to them.

She had never imagined that the women, who were sending her and other girls to the cave, were not simply female followers or Sat Brahamcharinis but henchwomen (vishkanyas), whose only task was to bring a fresh prey for the Baba to abuse sexually every night.

Their main task was to identify the beautiful female followers and put them in a hall which was linked to Gurmeet Ram Rahim's den. They were pampered, praised and were told that the Baba had only chosen them as his favourite disciples and would 'purify' them with his 'blessings' and would call them one by one.

Apart from this, they also cooked food for him and washed his dirty clothes. The victims were first asked to stand as guards outside the cave like sentries, which gave the impression of their being trusted female warriors. Four girls used to guard the cave and one was called inside the gufa every night.

Those who went to the gufa were not allowed to share the truth. They were not allowed to mingle and form a group to ensure that this dirty secret never came out and this practice could continue unchecked.

GURMEET'S HENCHWOMEN HAD CREATED A TORTURE ROOM

Another task given to the henchwomen was to keep the female followers in check. They were not allowed to criticise Gurmeet Ram Rahim and the Dera. Those doing so were brutally tortured. The guilty had to go without food for 24 hours. One of the rape victims told the court that she was threatened that she would be left starving if she reported the matter to anybody.

"There was a big room which was called the 'Man Sudhar Kamra' (mind improvement room) near room number 50, which was used to torture the rape victims and the girls who refused to enter the Gufa. The victim was asked to sit on a chair and then a group of women (henchwomen) would come and thrash her. A similar punishment was meted out to the male followers. Their faces were blackened and they were paraded on donkeys when caught staring at girls," said Gurdas Singh Toor.

The female followers were divided into two groups. Beautiful and attractive girls were chosen to guard the cave, cook food and maintain the Gufa besides satiating Gurmeet Ram Rahim's physical desires. The others were assigned routine jobs like cleanliness, housekeeping and preparing the stage from where Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh addressed his followers.

In a viral video, one of the female followers had accused Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of exploiting Dalit women by making them his domestic help.

NO ACTION TAKEN AGAINST HENCHWOMEN SO FAR

While Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been put behind bars for raping his female disciples, the women who connived with him and played an active role in the physical exploitation of the female followers are roaming free.

Gurdas Singh Toor, CBI's witness in the mass castration case, said that half-a-dozen henchwomen were personally known to him and he could identify them.

"No action has been taken against these dangerous women. While most of the Sadhvis have left the Dera, three henchwomen, who were witness to a number of sexual abuse cases, are still inside. One of them has even been mentioned in a CBI chargesheet, but no action has been taken against her. One of the women who aborted pregnancies of raped followers is still inside the Dera," said Toor.

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