27th Aug. 2017 update on Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh matter
1) India’s ‘guru of bling’ is convicted of raping two followers. After the verdict, deadly violence breaks out., https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/25/indias-guru-of-bling-convicted-of-rape/ has a set of 15 pics showing the vandalism and the violence.
2) Army denies plan to storm sect’s building, http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/army-denies-plan-to-storm-sects-building/article19567136.ece. [Note that I came to know of this article from the printed copy newspaper today, 27th Aug. 2017] This article mentions that about a lakh (one hundred thousand) devotees of Guru/spiritual group head, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, are within the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa.
Eight Indian army columns (each column having minimum of 80 troops) are deployed in Sirsa but the army has said that they do not have any plans to enter the Dera HQ.
The article further reports that despite pleas from the authorities for the devotees to disperse from the HQ, the devotees continue to stay there.
Barricades have been set up at entry points to the Dera HQ by police and other security forces.
Ravi: I think that the Dera devotees holed up in the HQ should demonstrate that they have abdicated violence against the security forces of the state. That is vital given the violence that Dera devotees indulged in on Friday (25th Aug.) after the court verdict against their Guru, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
If that abdication of violence is done then I think the govt. should try to address their fears and insecurity about continuance of their Dera/ashram with its vital support system for its followers of subsidized food, free medicine (and perhaps free or subsidized shelter). Such fear and insecurity are natural in such scenarios. If the govt. is able to provide them assurances backed by actions that their ashram system's basic support systems for their followers will continue, then I think they will calm down. Succession in the Dera, in this situation, seems to be somewhat settled as I read somewhere that the Guru had anointed his son as his successor some years ago. So the son can run the Dera now, along with his other siblings. Hopefully the siblings will not get into a power struggle among themselves.
3) ‘Why didn’t you do enough’: HC pulls up Haryana govt, Centre after Dera violence | 5 points, http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/why-didn-t-you-do-enough-hc-pulls-up-haryana-govt-centre-after-dera-violence-5-points/story-X5r6lHRndZUs9dJVhm4P7I.html
The article states that the Punjab & Haryana High Court have been hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a Panchkula resident, over the past few days, related to law & order concerns with over 1.5 Lakh (150,000) people entering that Haryana district even though there were "prohibitory orders". The article reports that the High Court (HC) bench said, (the state government, a BJP govt.) "surrendered before the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda for political considerations". "This was a political surrender to allure vote bank... they were outsiders, you allowed them to enter and stay".
The HC stated that the suspended Panchkula Deputy Commissioner of Police was made a "scapegoat". The article reports that the HC wanted an investigation about why the security arrangments failed to prevent the mobs from indulging in violence.
The HC had earlier stated that it will recover money for the damages done by the Dera supporters from the Dera. It has asked for a list of its financial assets including bank accounts.
4) ‘Kill him, kill him,’ screamed ‘Premis’, http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/kill-him-kill-him-screamed-premis/article19567802.ece [Note that I came to know of this article from the printed copy newspaper today, 27th Aug. 2017]
Ravi: That's a terrifying account of how Dera supporters in Sirsa (their HQ area) attacked two journalists, and perhaps may have killed them had the journalists not escaped. This happened a short time after the verdict was announced against their Guru, on Friday, 25th Aug. Now I think these two journalists were rather foolish and reckless to not have followed the wise move of the other journalists to leave the Dera controlled area before the verdict was given. I mean, these are the realities of India today, in such tense situations.
But that does not change my considered view that these violent attacks from the Dera supporters on journalists MUST BE CONDEMNED UNEQUIVOCALLY. Ideally, the attackers should be identified and made to face the full force/penalty of the law.
5) It was not an easy investigation for CBI, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/it-was-not-an-easy-investigation-for-cbi/article19568433.ece [Note that I came to know of this article from the printed copy newspaper today, 27th Aug. 2017]
The report states that the case started in May 2002 with the Punjab and Haryana High Court (HC) taking cognisance of an anonymous letter claiming sexual exploitation of girls by the Dera head. The HC directed the Sirsa District and Sessions judge (like a trial court in USA, I guess) to investigate the matter. But nobody was willing to speak about the matter to the judge! The judge then recommended a central investigative agency investigation of the matter, which is what the HC directed, and so the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India's premier central investigative agency (like FBI in USA), got involved in the matter in December 2002.
The article states that 130 girls contacted by the CBI did not co-operate due to, the article reports in quotes, "an atmosphere of fear and physical, mental and spiritual control of Baba Gurmeet Singh".
But some girls who had left the ashram did speak to the CBI. In 2006, two of the girls provided accounts stating that they were raped (perhaps in August 1999) by the Dera chief, with one of them recording her statement under some legal procedure in 2007 (which lent more weight to it as evidence in Indian court of law).
6) CBI officer who cracked Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh case was asked to ‘close it’, http://indianexpress.com/article/india/dera-sacha-sauda-chief-gurmeet-ram-rahim-singh-cbi-officer-who-cracked-case-was-asked-to-close-it-4813907/. The article gives the views of the now retired CBI senior officer to whom the case was handed over in 2007. The senior officer claims that he was put under pressure to close the case but that as he had got the case under High Court orders, he refused to do so. He is reported to have said, "That the case had been handed over by High Court helped" (to resist pressure from political leaders and seniors to close the case).
The officer says that the Dera tried to locate where he lived (to threaten him)!
Ravi: I am awed by, and commend the courage and tenacity of this CBI senior officer (Mulinja Narayanan) in discharging his duty and significantly contributing to delivering justice in this case.
7) Dera chief case: CBI judge to be flown to Rohtak jail for pronouncing sentence, http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/dera-chief-case-cbi-judge-to-be-flown-to-rohtak-jail-for-pronouncing-sentence/article9831856.ece.
The Dera chief has been lodged in Rohtak jail in Haryana state (Rohtak has few Dera supporters, it seems). I read somewhere that he was flown in a helicopter from Panchkula court on Friday after the verdict, to Rohtak jail. The article above states that the HC ordered that the CBI judge who pronounced the Dera chief guilty, must be flown along with his two staff, with proper security, by the govt. to Rohtak jail, for pronouncing the sentence part of the judgement (on Monday, 28th Aug. 2017).
Ravi: I salute the courage shown by the CBI judge who pronounced the Dera chief guilty. I also salute the courage shown by the High Court judges above to ensure that the govt. does its job of providing security to the CBI judge and provides an environment for justice to be delivered.
My posts on such matters have clearly brought home to me that the protection of law (to a significant extent, even if that is not entirely implemented) that I enjoy as a law abiding Indian citizen is due to the courage and dedication to duty shown by people like the CBI officers investigating this case and the CBI judge, and the High Court judges. I am deeply grateful to them for their service to the nation which helps/serves law abiding Indian citizens like me.
[I thank thehindu.com, hindustantimes.com, indianexpress.com and thehindubusinessline.com, and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me referring to their above articles on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever. Note that this post deals with public safety and well being.]
2) Army denies plan to storm sect’s building, http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/army-denies-plan-to-storm-sects-building/article19567136.ece. [Note that I came to know of this article from the printed copy newspaper today, 27th Aug. 2017] This article mentions that about a lakh (one hundred thousand) devotees of Guru/spiritual group head, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, are within the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa.
Eight Indian army columns (each column having minimum of 80 troops) are deployed in Sirsa but the army has said that they do not have any plans to enter the Dera HQ.
The article further reports that despite pleas from the authorities for the devotees to disperse from the HQ, the devotees continue to stay there.
Barricades have been set up at entry points to the Dera HQ by police and other security forces.
Ravi: I think that the Dera devotees holed up in the HQ should demonstrate that they have abdicated violence against the security forces of the state. That is vital given the violence that Dera devotees indulged in on Friday (25th Aug.) after the court verdict against their Guru, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
If that abdication of violence is done then I think the govt. should try to address their fears and insecurity about continuance of their Dera/ashram with its vital support system for its followers of subsidized food, free medicine (and perhaps free or subsidized shelter). Such fear and insecurity are natural in such scenarios. If the govt. is able to provide them assurances backed by actions that their ashram system's basic support systems for their followers will continue, then I think they will calm down. Succession in the Dera, in this situation, seems to be somewhat settled as I read somewhere that the Guru had anointed his son as his successor some years ago. So the son can run the Dera now, along with his other siblings. Hopefully the siblings will not get into a power struggle among themselves.
3) ‘Why didn’t you do enough’: HC pulls up Haryana govt, Centre after Dera violence | 5 points, http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/why-didn-t-you-do-enough-hc-pulls-up-haryana-govt-centre-after-dera-violence-5-points/story-X5r6lHRndZUs9dJVhm4P7I.html
The article states that the Punjab & Haryana High Court have been hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a Panchkula resident, over the past few days, related to law & order concerns with over 1.5 Lakh (150,000) people entering that Haryana district even though there were "prohibitory orders". The article reports that the High Court (HC) bench said, (the state government, a BJP govt.) "surrendered before the followers of Dera Sacha Sauda for political considerations". "This was a political surrender to allure vote bank... they were outsiders, you allowed them to enter and stay".
The HC stated that the suspended Panchkula Deputy Commissioner of Police was made a "scapegoat". The article reports that the HC wanted an investigation about why the security arrangments failed to prevent the mobs from indulging in violence.
The HC had earlier stated that it will recover money for the damages done by the Dera supporters from the Dera. It has asked for a list of its financial assets including bank accounts.
4) ‘Kill him, kill him,’ screamed ‘Premis’, http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/kill-him-kill-him-screamed-premis/article19567802.ece [Note that I came to know of this article from the printed copy newspaper today, 27th Aug. 2017]
Ravi: That's a terrifying account of how Dera supporters in Sirsa (their HQ area) attacked two journalists, and perhaps may have killed them had the journalists not escaped. This happened a short time after the verdict was announced against their Guru, on Friday, 25th Aug. Now I think these two journalists were rather foolish and reckless to not have followed the wise move of the other journalists to leave the Dera controlled area before the verdict was given. I mean, these are the realities of India today, in such tense situations.
But that does not change my considered view that these violent attacks from the Dera supporters on journalists MUST BE CONDEMNED UNEQUIVOCALLY. Ideally, the attackers should be identified and made to face the full force/penalty of the law.
5) It was not an easy investigation for CBI, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/it-was-not-an-easy-investigation-for-cbi/article19568433.ece [Note that I came to know of this article from the printed copy newspaper today, 27th Aug. 2017]
The report states that the case started in May 2002 with the Punjab and Haryana High Court (HC) taking cognisance of an anonymous letter claiming sexual exploitation of girls by the Dera head. The HC directed the Sirsa District and Sessions judge (like a trial court in USA, I guess) to investigate the matter. But nobody was willing to speak about the matter to the judge! The judge then recommended a central investigative agency investigation of the matter, which is what the HC directed, and so the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India's premier central investigative agency (like FBI in USA), got involved in the matter in December 2002.
The article states that 130 girls contacted by the CBI did not co-operate due to, the article reports in quotes, "an atmosphere of fear and physical, mental and spiritual control of Baba Gurmeet Singh".
But some girls who had left the ashram did speak to the CBI. In 2006, two of the girls provided accounts stating that they were raped (perhaps in August 1999) by the Dera chief, with one of them recording her statement under some legal procedure in 2007 (which lent more weight to it as evidence in Indian court of law).
6) CBI officer who cracked Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh case was asked to ‘close it’, http://indianexpress.com/article/india/dera-sacha-sauda-chief-gurmeet-ram-rahim-singh-cbi-officer-who-cracked-case-was-asked-to-close-it-4813907/. The article gives the views of the now retired CBI senior officer to whom the case was handed over in 2007. The senior officer claims that he was put under pressure to close the case but that as he had got the case under High Court orders, he refused to do so. He is reported to have said, "That the case had been handed over by High Court helped" (to resist pressure from political leaders and seniors to close the case).
The officer says that the Dera tried to locate where he lived (to threaten him)!
Ravi: I am awed by, and commend the courage and tenacity of this CBI senior officer (Mulinja Narayanan) in discharging his duty and significantly contributing to delivering justice in this case.
7) Dera chief case: CBI judge to be flown to Rohtak jail for pronouncing sentence, http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/dera-chief-case-cbi-judge-to-be-flown-to-rohtak-jail-for-pronouncing-sentence/article9831856.ece.
The Dera chief has been lodged in Rohtak jail in Haryana state (Rohtak has few Dera supporters, it seems). I read somewhere that he was flown in a helicopter from Panchkula court on Friday after the verdict, to Rohtak jail. The article above states that the HC ordered that the CBI judge who pronounced the Dera chief guilty, must be flown along with his two staff, with proper security, by the govt. to Rohtak jail, for pronouncing the sentence part of the judgement (on Monday, 28th Aug. 2017).
Ravi: I salute the courage shown by the CBI judge who pronounced the Dera chief guilty. I also salute the courage shown by the High Court judges above to ensure that the govt. does its job of providing security to the CBI judge and provides an environment for justice to be delivered.
My posts on such matters have clearly brought home to me that the protection of law (to a significant extent, even if that is not entirely implemented) that I enjoy as a law abiding Indian citizen is due to the courage and dedication to duty shown by people like the CBI officers investigating this case and the CBI judge, and the High Court judges. I am deeply grateful to them for their service to the nation which helps/serves law abiding Indian citizens like me.
[I thank thehindu.com, hindustantimes.com, indianexpress.com and thehindubusinessline.com, and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me referring to their above articles on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever. Note that this post deals with public safety and well being.]
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