‘Wild beast, deserves no mercy’, says judgment on rapist Dera chief

Rohtak (Haryana), Aug 28 (IANS) Rapist Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh may have tried his teary antics in the court on Monday, pleading for mercy, but the court was in no such mood as it sent him behind bars for 20 years, terming his conduct as that of a "wild beast".

CBI special court judge Jagdeep Singh was scathing in his observations about the actions of the rapist self-styled godman.

"This court is of the considered view that when the convict did not spare even his own pious disciples and acted like a wild beast, he does not deserve any mercy," he observed in the verdict.

"In other words, a man who has no concern for humanity, nor has any mercy in his nature, does not deserve leniency from the court."

Eighteen years after he raped two of his female disciples, the disgraced Dera chief was on Monday sentenced to 20 years jail for rape and criminal intimidation and fined Rs 30 lakh. The rapist sect chief has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in each of the two cases of rape. Both the sentences will run consecutively," the sect chief's counsel S.K. Garg Narwana said after the special CBI judge pronounced the sentence in the District Jail in Sunaria, which was brought under extraordinary security following Friday's violence.

The rape victims will get Rs 14 lakh each as compensation from the fine, CBI special court Judge Jagdeep Singh, who was flown in a helicopter from Chandigarh, said in the judgment.

Earlier, there was confusion over the term of the sentence, with reports that Ram Rahim was sentenced to 10 years in jail. Later, his counsel clarified the position.

The judgment was further confirmed by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Haryana Advocate General B.R. Mahajan.

Judge Jagdeep Singh had on Friday held the Dera chief guilty of rape and criminal intimidation of the two female disciples in 1999. The complaint in the cases was filed in 2002.

The CBI court had convicted the sect chief in Panchkula on Friday, sparking large-scale violence by his followers which left 38 people dead and 264 injured.