Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim key conspirator in sacrilege incidents: Punjab Police SIT report

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, controversial head of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, has been named as a key conspirator in sacrilege incidents in Punjab by a Special Investigating Team (SIT) of the Punjab Police.

The SIT, which had been probing Ram Rahim’s involvement in three sacrilege cases, in its final report termed him as the conspirator besides naming several of his followers, including three who are still absconding.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday made the SIT report public and also handed over its copies to certain Sikh leaders comprising Major Singh Pandori, Chamkaur Singh, Bhai Rupa, Resham Singh Khukhrana and Baldev Singh Joggewala.

The Sikh leaders had been demanding that the report should be brought to the public domain.

The first sacrilege incident was reported at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala on June 1, 2015. Then, on September 25, 2015, two posters containing derogatory remarks against the Sikh religion, Sikh preachers and the Guru Granth Sahib were found pasted outside Dhodha Peer Gate at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala.

The third incident occurred on October 12, 2015, when the pages of Guru Granth Sahib were found strewn outside Bargari gurdwara and the village streets.

On the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Punjab government had constituted a five-member SIT led by Inspector General (Border Range) SPS Parmar. The SIT had submitted the final report to DGP VK Bhawra and DGP (Intelligence) Prabodh Kumar in April 2022 for approval.

The 467-page report counters several claims made by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in its investigation. The CBI had found no evidence of the Dera Sacha Sauda’s involvement and had filed a closure report. The investigation report was also submitted in a challan before a Faridkot court earlier.

The SIT report stated that there was a direct link with the Dera Sacha Sauda, Sirsa, and the accused, who are followers of the Dera. “It is evident from material/evidence collected by the SIT of Punjab Police that the accused had direct nexus with the management of the Dera,” it says.