Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh: Controversy’s favourite bearded Baba

Dr Gurmeet Ram Rahim: Spiritual saint, philanthropist, versatile singer, allrounder sportsperson, film director, actor, art director, music director, writer, lyricist and autobiographer. This is how controversial Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh introduces himself on his twitter page that has over 3.74 M followers.

He became head of the Dera—which was established at Sirsa in 1948 by Shah Mastana Balochistani—in 1990. Two days ago, ahead of Friday's court verdict in a 15-year-old sexual exploitation case against him, the self-proclaimed “Messenger of God” wrote on twitter a message of “selfless service and meditation” for his followers, many of whom have flocked in Panchkula. He is said to have at least 5 crore followers all over the country and abroad.

“Selfless service, meditation and firm belief are the ornaments in spirituality,” he said in a tweet and also shared a link to a Facebook video of one of his discourses. In another tweet, he said that he would be present at the special CBI court in Panchkula which pronounced judgment in a rape case against him on Friday and found him gulity of rape subsequently.

Within hours, thousands of his followers reacted to the message, expressing solidarity and loyalty for the burly and bearded Baba (Godman). Many staunch followers proclaimed in their tweets and Facebook posts that they were not scared of going to any extent to fight for him in case he gets convicted.

Over two lakh Dera followers have reportedly descended on Panchkula from surrounding areas in the wake of court’s verdict. Even though helicopters and drones have been deployed for surveillance, Haryana government was on Friday admonished for laxity in dealing with the situation.

Here’s a brief account of all the major controversies surrounding the Dera chief—who enjoys Z plus security provided by the central government on the basis of inputs about threat to his life:

Death of a child

He was embroiled in a major controversy for the first time when a child at Begu village in Sirsa came under a jeep belonging to Dera Sacha Sauda in 1998. Dera used its might against protesting villagers and Dera and its chief responded with threats to the journalists who reported the issue.

Rape charges

In 2002, an anonymous letter took on Gurmeet Ram Rahim and Dera Sacha Sauda with allegations of rape against him. The letter, purportedly written by a sadhvi (female follower) of the Dera, claimed that Gurmeet Ram Rahim raped her repeatedly. The Dera people blamed Ranjeet Singh, who was a former member of Dera committee and a resident of Kurukshetra for the letter. Ranjeet was killed in July 2002, two months after the letter was written.

Murder of a journalist

In October 2002, a local journalist Ram Chander Chhattrapati was murdered. He is credited with exposing the illegal activities of the Dera pointing fingers at Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

On October 24, 2002, Ram Chander was shot allegedly by Dera followers. He died at the Apollo hospital in New Delhi a month later. This led to massive protests by journalists at Sirsa and other places in Haryana and Punjab demanding action against him.

The Punjab and Chandigarh High Court ordered CBI probe in the killings of both Ram Chander and Ranjeet Singh in 2003.

Hurting Sikh sentiments

In May 2007, Gurmeet Ram Rahim was again in the middle of a raging controversy after he appeared before his followers at Satawalpura of Bathinda in Punjab in a dress resembling Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru. This led to clashes between Dera supporters and Sikh protesters at Bathinda. Eventually, a criminal case was filed against him.

Ban on visiting Punjab

During one of the protests in May 2007 at Sunam, Dera follower fired at protesting Sikhs. A youth identified as Komal Singh died in the firing.

The Sikh organisations launched a massive campaign for the arrest of Gurmeet Ram Rahim. In the face of protests, the Punjab government put a ban on Gurmeet Ram Rahim's entry into the state.

Threat letter to judge

In July 2007, the special CBI court judge received a letter threatening him with unpleasant consequences if he proceeded against the rape and sexual harassment cases against him.

Disappearance of former Dera manager

In 2010, a petition was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking CBI probe alleging that former Dera manager Fakir Chand was missing. The writ petition had been filed by another former Dera manager named Ram Kumar Bishnoi.

Bishnoi alleged that Fakir Chand had been killed at the behest of Gurmeet Ram Rahim. The high court directed the CBI to probe the case. However, the CBI filed a closure report citing lack of evidence. Bishnoi has challenged the closure report in the high court.

Castration of 400 followers

In July 2012, Hansraj Chauhan of Fatehabad district of Haryana filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court alleging that 400 disciples were castrated on the pretext of union with God at the Dera premises. The castration was allegedly done to avoid sexual advances of the disciples towards sadhvis. The case is currently in trial stage.

Possession of illegal weapons

In 2014, Gurmeet Ram Rahim came under the scanner for allegedly possessing illegal weapons and imparting arms training at his ashram. The Punjab and Haryana High Court sought report from the local administration on the matter.

Censor board members resignation

In 2015, former chairperson of Censor Board Leela Samson resigned after Gurmeet Ram Rahim's movie MSG: Messenger of God was given clearance. Following Samson's resignation, another board member Ira Bhaskar also resigned from the board.

Arrest of a comedian

In 2016, noted comedian Kiku Sharda was arrested in Mumbai by the Haryana Police for mimicking Singh on a TV show. Sharda spent 14 days in judicial custody in Kaithal, Haryana, even as he maintained that he was merely following the script.