The Reel and Real man- Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan a preacher, spiritual leader and an actor is again in the news in relation to the case of allegedly raping two ‘sadhvis’ (female followers) back in 2002. More than a decade has passed by since the trial and the final verdict is out on 25th August 2017 (that means 15 years down the line..) by the CBI court in Panchkula, Haryana. 

Here’s an insight into the Rockstar’s Baba Case- 

 1. The Cradle years 

Gurmeet Ram, the only child of his parents, was born on India Independence day - 15th August, 1967 in Ganganagar district of Rajasthan. He was favourite of everybody in his family. At a very tender age, his deeds hinted his family that he is the messenger of God and so never hit him physically, though maintained prime respect for him. He started driving a tractor to assist his father in the agricultural fields. 

 2. His Kinship 

He is married to Harjeet Kaur and has three daughters and a son. They all use Insan as their last name. 

 Son -Jasmeet Singh Insan is married to the daughter of Harminder Singh Jassi, a Punjab Congress leader. 

Elder Daughter-Charanpreet Kaur is married and husband name is Doctor Shan-A-Meet Insan 

Younger Daughter- Amarpreet Kaur is married and husband name is Ruah-A-Meet Insan. 

Adopted daughter Honeypreet Insan is a movie actress and director. 

 3. Evolution As Revered Pitaji 

On 23rd September 1990, the date that benchmarked itself in the history of humanity, witnessed a formal ceremony, wherein Shah Satnam Singh Ji Maharaj bestowed spiritual wealth to Pitaji and handed him the charge of the Dera. Param Pita Shah Satnam Singh Ji Maharaj invited his disciples from all over the country and conducted a grand Satsang where His Holiness declared Revered Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan as the successor to the divine throne. At the age of 23, he left his family and sacrificed himself to the cause of humanity. 

 4. His Holiness spring time 

Followed by millions across the globe, he is among the 36 Indians to have a VVIP status and hence merits Z-level security, in addition to his own private guards. He has received an honorary doctorate degree from the UK-based World Records University, has 53 world records in various categories, out of which 17 are Guinness records, 27 are Asia Book records, 7 India Book records and 2 are Limca records. So far, he has written, produced, directed and acted in three movies. And in all of them, he can be seen wearing fancy colourful clothes, riding a motorcycle, performing heroic feats and thrashing bad folks. He has also been honoured with most popular Actor, Director, Writer award by Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation. 

 5. Onset of devolution. 

It is true that,  MSG- Messenger of God, reel Godman contributed a lot to the mankind. Up until 2002, when Guru Ram Rahim was convicted against allegedly raping two sadhvis and accused of murdering a Sirsa-based journalist, Ram Chander Chatrapati, who had been writing about the Dera's activities. Chatrapati was shot on October 24, 2001. He died on November 21. He was also accused of allegedly killing, in July 2002, sect manager Ranjit Singh. 

 6. The Sadhvi’s Allegation 

She claimed that Gurmeet Ram Rahim raped and sexually exploited women followers at the Dera. The complainant said that she was a graduate from Punjab and had been convinced by her parents to become a sadhvi at the Dera Sacha Sauda and become a disciple of Gurmeet Ram Rahim. The woman said that two years after joining the Dera as sadhvi, she was called to Ram Rahim's 'gufa'- residence of the Dera chief. Inside the gufa ( the secret room), the woman found Ram Rahim watching television with a pistol by his side. Ram Rahim, the woman claimed, raped her and threatened with serious consequences if she spoke about it anywhere. The woman alleged that Ram Rahim raped her repeatedly during her stay at Dera. 

 7. The anonymous letter 

The three-page letter typed in Hindi, addressed to then prime minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee, narrates the ordeal of a dera sadhvi (woman follower) who charged Ram Rahim with sexual exploitation of the sadhvis in the dera.The letter, which was received by the high court by post on May 5, was also addressed to Union home ministry, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) besides media offices seeking intervention into wrongdoings in the dera. 

 8. HC cleared the deck 

While others did not respond to her letter, the Punjab and Haryana High Court took cognisance of the letter and sought a report from the District and Sessions Judge of Sirsa. District judge MS Sular conducted an inquiry and submitted his report recommending probe by a central agency. After getting the report from Sirsa, the Punjab and Haryana High Court referred the matter to the CBI for probe into the allegations leveled in the letter. The Chandigarh branch of CBI registered a case of rape under IPC Section 376, criminal intimidation under Section 506 and insult to the modesty of woman under 509. 

 9. The verdict- 25th August 2017 

The much awaited decision on this decade long case has been announced. At 3:05 pm: Dera Sacha Sauda chief has been convicted in rape case by CBI court in Panchkula. The bench said that the quantum of sentence in the case will be announced on Monday. More than a lakh of Ram Rahim's followers had congregated in Panchkula for the verdict, creating a precarious situation.As feared, violence erupted in Panchkula which is being bravely and heroically handled by the security forces. 

 10. Boon or Doom 

While the MSG followers have shown their disagreement towards the final decision, it is once again the common man which is suffering the boon or doom emotion. Although Guru Ram Rahim maintained an aura of strength for several more years, the conviction for raping and murdering has dampened the followers trust to the society and the system. Is it justified or not.. A question to ponder on… 

 A time to maintain peace and love….