Interlinked sacrilege cases| 2015 Punjab govt gives nod to prosecute Ram Rahim, 3 dera men
The state government also granted sanction to prosecute three national committee members of dera — Pardeep Kler, Harsh Dhuri and Sandeep Bareta. While Dhuri and Bareta are still absconding, Kler was arrested earlier this year.
Days after the Supreme Court lifted the stay imposed by Punjab and Haryana high court on proceedings in the 2015 sacrilege cases, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government has granted sanction to prosecute Sirsa dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in three-interlinked 2015 sacrilege cases of Faridkot and cleared way to start trial against the self-styled godman.
The state government also granted sanction to prosecute three national committee members of dera — Pardeep Kler, Harsh Dhuri and Sandeep Bareta. While Dhuri and Bareta are still absconding, Kler was arrested earlier this year.
The move comes more than two-and-a-half years after the Punjab Police special investigation team (SIT), led by ADGP Surinder Pal Singh Parmar, had filed a proposal seeking sanction to prosecute Ram Rahim under section 295-A ( hurting religious feelings) of the IPC. The state government’s sanction is required to prosecute anyone under erstwhile section 295-A of IPC.
The home department sanctioned prosecution under Section 196 (prosecution for offences against the state and for criminal conspiracy to commit such offence) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) against Ram Rahim, Kler, Dhuri and Bareta in FIR-128 registered at Bajakhana police station on October 12, 2015, after torn pages of a bir (copy of Guru Grabth Sahib) were found near gurudwara at Bargari village and in FIR-117 registered on September 25, 2015, after three derogatory posters were found pasted on walls near gurdwaras at Bargari and Burj Jawahar Singh Wala villages.
The home department also sanctioned prosecution under Section 196 of the CrPC Ram Rahim, Kler, Dhuri, Bareta and seven dera followers — Sukhjinder Singh, alias Sunny, Nishan Singh and Ranjit Singh, alias Bhola all residents of Kotkapura; Shakti Singh of Daggu Romana village, Narinder Kumar and Randeep Singh alias Neela of Faridkot and Baljit Singh of Sikhanwala village in FIR-63 registered at Bajakhana police station on June 2, 2015, after a bir (copy of Guru Granth Sahib) was stolen from a gurdwara at Burj Jawahar Singh Wala village in Faridkot.
‘Key conspirator admits to Ram Rahim’s involvement in sacrilege’
“Pardeep Kler was arrested on February 16, 2024, and in his statement under section 164 of CrPc Kler admitted that dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was involved in all the sacrilege incidents, which took place during that period,” reads the sanction order.
“After inspecting the record, including the report submitted under section 173 of CrPC and statements under sections 161 and 164 of CrPC, I am satisfied that the prima facie case is made out against the accused persons. The sanction is granted to prosecute the accused under sections 295-A and 120B (being party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence) of the IPC so that the competent court can try the accused under sections 380 (theft), 295-A, 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information), 414 (assisting in concealment of stolen property), 451(trespass) and 120-,” said Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, secretary of department of home affairs.
In July 2021, the Punjab government had granted sanction to prosecute six followers of dera in connection with two sacrilege cases (FIR-117 and FIR-128) connected with the 2015 Bargari sacrilege incident. However, a proposal seeking sanction to prosecute seven dera followers in FIR 63 was also pending.
Dera head hatched conspiracy for revenge: SIT final report
In April 2022, around seven years after the Bargari sacrilege incident, SIT head ADGP SPS Parmar in his final report found no political involvement and concluded that “the crime was committed following a conspiracy by dera followers on the directions of Ram Rahim for revenge”. Chief minister Bhagwant Mann had handed over the report to a Sikh community leader.
The SIT claimed that it was Ram Rahim who ordered to carry out sacrilege to avenge the insult of sect followers by a Sikh preacher. “During a diwan (religious congregation) on March 22, 2015, Harjinder Singh Manjhi, a Sikh preacher, asked some dera followers to remove their lockets or leave. Bittu raised the issue with dera’s national committee members Sandeep Bareta, Pardeep Kler and Harsh Dhuri, who saw it as an act of sacrilege and decided to take revenge. The sacrilege conspiracy was hatched thereafter,” the report said.
The SIT probing the sacrilege cases claims to have found that the instructions to execute the sacrilege at Bargari, Moga and Gurusar were given by Bareta, Kler and Dhuri, to the district dera committee members. “The trio had met dera follower Mohinder Pal Bittu (who was killed in Nabha jail) and instructed him for the theft and sacrilege,” SIT claimed.
In February last year, the SC had transferred the trial against Ram Rahim and seven followers in three interlinked cases of Bargari sacrilege from a court in Faridkot to Chandigarh. The move came after dera follower Pardeep Singh Kataria, an accused in the 2015 Bargari sacrilege case, was shot dead on November 10, 2022, and other accused moved the apex court seeking transfer of the case.
Meanwhile, the SIT is likely to turn Pardeep Kler an approver. The trial court has listed the further proceedings in Bargari sacrilege cases for November 28, now with the apex court order and government’s sanction trial will restart in the Chandigarh court.
