After Rampal, Gurmeet Ram Rahim's Dera Sacha Sauda under scanner

Chandigarh, Dec 1: After Sant Rampal, Gurmeet Ram Rahim of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect has come under the scanner.

While hearing a case relating to Rampal, the Punjab and Haryana High Court observed on Friday that activities of the Sirsa-based sect should be monitored periodically by the top brass of Haryana, including government and police.

The court also observed that there was a need to carry out searches inside the Dera premises to recover any illegal arms and ammunition in order to prevent any bloody confrontation in the future similar to the one witnessed during the operation against Rampal.

The court made the observations just days after Rampal was arrested from his Satlok Ashram at Barwala in Haryana's Hisar district following a pitched battle between police and his supporters. A cache of arms was later recovered from the ashram.

The HC observations came after it took note of inputs that private commandos were being trained by some former Army personnel and armed with illegal weapons inside the Dera Sacha Sauda premises. The court said such developments pose a challenge “to the State”.

While making the observations, the court recalled that Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim was facing cases of murder and rape, and in one instance had brought thousands of followers along with him to a sessions court.

"We take judicial notice of the fact that Gurmeet Ram Rahim, head of said Dera Sacha Sauda is facing two graver cases of murder punishable under Section 302 IPC and one equally serious case of rape punishable under Section 376 IPC. He had also chosen to bring thousands and thousands of followers to the premises of the Sessions Division where the sessions trial was originally taken up," the division bench headed by Justice M Jeyapaul observed.

"Search of Dera to unearth illegal arms and ammunitions and monitoring its activities on periodic basis is the absolute need of the hour to avoid future bloody confrontation. Casualty will be more in dimension compared to the one we had faced while executing warrant of arrest as against contemnor Rampal," the bench added.

The court has, meanwhile, referred the matter to the chief justice's bench for appropriate action.