Chandigarh: The two women followers raped by Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh moved the Punjab and Haryana high court seeking life imprisonment for the sect head.
The 50-year-old controversial sect chief was on August 25 found guilty of raping his two disciples that saw his followers resort to violence that left 41 people dead in Haryana, with most deaths reported from Panchkula. “We have filed a revision petition on behalf of the rape victims seeking enhancement of sentence, which in a rape case is life term,” advocate Navkiran Singh said.
The CBI court on August 28 awarded 10 years in jail in each of the rape cases to the sect leader. He was also fined Rs 30 lakh, with Rs 14 lakh to be paid to each of the two women.
“Gurmeet is head of religious organisation known as Dera. He had committee a grave breach of trust,” said the petition.
“Abusing his position as religious head in whom the followers had blind faith, he committed rape with the victim who was under his mental and physical control.” A lesser punishment, the petition said, would not achieve “the ends of justice”.
