Dera chief’s acquittal

THE acquittal of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and four others in the Ranjit Singh murder case is a major embarrassment to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Pronouncing its verdict, the Punjab and Haryana High Court observed that the investigating officers carried out a ‘tainted and sketchy’ probe and collected evidence that was unworthy of credence. Ram Rahim and the others had been convicted in this case by a special CBI court in Panchkula in October 2021, four years after he was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for raping two of his disciples.

Ranjit Singh, a former manager and follower of the Sirsa-headquartered sect, was shot dead at Khanpur Kolian village in Kurukshetra in July 2002. The apparent reason behind the killing was his suspected role in the circulation of an anonymous letter, which purportedly said that women were being sexually exploited by Ram Rahim on the dera premises. Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati had published the letter in his Hindi-language newspaper, Poora Sach (The Whole Truth). He was killed by gunmen months later in 2002. Ram Rahim was convicted for the murder and sentenced to life imprisonment by a special CBI court in January 2019.

Against this backdrop, it is lamentable that the CBI’s probe into the Ranjit Singh case failed to withstand the high court’s scrutiny. The HC has pointed out multiple lapses: the car allegedly used in the crime was never found; even though three prosecution witnesses stated that all four assailants were armed, no weapon was recovered by CBI sleuths. The court has also flagged the pitfalls of conducting an investigation influenced by the ‘glare of media publicity’. Now it’s back to the drawing board for the premier probe agency, whose credibility has come under a cloud. The CBI needs to explain why a seemingly open-and-shut case fell flat and also hold erring officers accountable.