The Haryana government on Tuesday has provided Z-plus security to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh following reports of death threats from pro-Khalistan activists.

As per a report in India Today, the decision has been taken after his request to furlough was approved in early February. It is to be noted that the Z-plus category security is provided by the National Security Guard commandos and the person who gets this level of security is provided with 10 security personnel for mobile security and two (plus eight) for residence security.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that the decision has nothing to do with the Punjab Assembly Elections and it is just a coincidence.

Earlier, Ram Rahim was provided with a 21 days furlough for the rape convict. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping two of his disciples at his ashram and the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. On August 15, 2017, he was found guilty in both cases and was sent to 10 years of jail in each case.

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What is the Z-plus category?

In India, the security categories are X, Y, Y-Plus, Z and Z-Plus. The Z-Plus category is the highest one and is accorded to only the most important personalities in the country. Besides these categories, SPG (Special Protection Group) cover is provided only for the prime minister and his immediate family.

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Self-styled Godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim and three others have been convicted in the murder of a journalist by a special court in Haryana.

Ram Rahim, chief of the Dera Sacha Sauda has been found guilty in the 2002 murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.

51-year-old Ram Rahim appeared before the court through video conferencing from Rohtak’s Sunaria jail.

He is currently serving a 20-year prison term for raping two of his followers. His conviction in August 2017 had triggered riots in Panchkula, as his followers went berserk, that left 30 dead and property worth crores vandalised.

“All the four accused have been convicted,” HPS Verma, lawyer for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told news agency PTI after Judge Jagdeep Singh gave the verdict in Panchkula.

He will be sentenced on January 17.

Journalist Ramchandra Chhatrapati was shot dead in 2002 outside his house after his newspaper ”Poora Sach” published an anonymous letter narrating how women were being sexually exploited by Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa.

The case was registered in 2003 and handed over to the CBI in 2006.

Ram Rahim was said to be the main accused followed by three other-Kuldeep Singh, Nirmal Singh, and Krishan Lal, all close aides of Ram Rahim.

(With PTI Inputs)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The ‘adopted daughter’ of rapist Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh charged with sedition and inciting violence in Panchkula on August 25

A day after she resurfaced following a 38-day long period of absence which put her on the list of Haryana’s most wanted ‘criminals’, Honeypreet Insan, the adopted daughter of rapist Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was, on Wednesday, remanded to six days in police custody by a Panchkula court.

Honeypreet alias Priyanka Taneja had been arrested by the Haryana police on Tuesday from Zirakpur-Patiala road in Punjab, hours after she gave an interview to a television channel and claimed that she had “done no wrong” and that her “Papa” Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was “innocent” of the charge of rape for which he is currently serving a 20 year jail term.

Honeypreet has been charged with sedition and for inciting the violence that broke out in Panchkula and soon engulfed parts of Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Rajasthan on August 25 minutes after a special CBI court convicted Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of raping two of his female followers in a 15-year-old case. The violent clashes between Dera followers and the police had, on that day, left 41 people dead – mainly in Panchkula and Sirsa towns of Haryana.

Honeypreet had been produced before the Panchkula chief judicial magistrate RK Vats on Wednesday. Local media reports suggested that she broke down in the courtroom, claimed that she was innocent of the charges brought against her by the police and pleaded for mercy – something that was reminiscent of the Dera chief’s behavious in Rohtak’s Sunaria Jail on August 28 when special CBI judge Jagdeep Singh sentenced him to 20 years in prison for the two counts of rape.

While the police had requested the court to grant them 14-days custody of Honeypreet, CJM RK Vats only gave orders for six-days police remand.

“They (Haryana Police) sought 14 days’ remand and following the arguments, the court sent Honeypreet to six-day police remand,” Honeypreet’s counsel SK Narwana told reporters after over-an-hour-long hearing.

Another woman, identified as Sukhdeep Kaur, who was arrested by the Haryana Police along with Honeypreet, has also been sent to six-day police remand.

Narwana argued that the police had “claimed that a conspiracy was hatched to incite violence on August 25. Honeypreet was not involved in any conspiracy. How can they implicate her in the conspiracy? She was with the Dera head after his conviction. In no way was she involved in inciting violence.”

The police claimed that Honeypreet had not divulged much about her activities and whereabouts during the 38 days when she evaded the police despite a lookout notice being issued against her.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]Panchkula Police Commissioner AS Chawla said Honeypreet had not cooperated with the police during her questioning on Tuesday night and had evaded giving straight replies about her role in Dera Sacha Sauda, how she became a close aide of the rapist godman or regarding her life before joining the Sirsa-based cult.

Meanwhile, a brief video of Honeypreet’s police interrogation that was conducted on Tuesday night has also gone viral on social networking websites like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]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[/vc_raw_html][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Pratibhanand, who carried a bounty of Rs 1 lakh, was on the run since BSP leader Deepak Bhardwaj’s murder in 2013

These are bad times for self-styled godmen. With Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh convicted for raping two of his female followers and Asaram Bapu on trial for rape cases, the latest godman to join the rogue’s gallery is the lesser known Mahant Pratibhanand.

On Friday night, the Ghaziabad police arrested the self-styled godman, also called Baba Pratibhanand by some, for his alleged role in the murder of BSP leader and businessman Deepak Bhardwaj.

“Pratibhanand was arrested from Ghaziabad junction by a police team. A pistol was found in his possession and he has been booked under provisions of the Arms Act. After getting information that he was roaming around Ghaziabad railway junction, we launched a manhunt with several teams and nabbed him,” said Akash Tomar, superintendent of police (city), Ghaziabad. Tomar added that the Delhi police – which had announced a bounty of Rs 1 lakh for information on Pratibhanand’s whereabouts – had been informed of the arrest and could take over his custody over the weekend after due legal processes are completed.

File photo of Deepak Bhardwaj

Bhardwaj, who had shot to fame in 2009 when he contested from the West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency as a BSP candidate and declared assets worth Rs 600 crore – the highest net worth of any candidate in the electoral fray that year – was murdered at his farm house near Vasant Kunj in New Delhi on March 26, 2013.

While the Delhi police, which was investigating the case, had established the motive behind the murder to be a property dispute between Bhardwaj and his younger son – Nitesh, who along with several of his accomplices had been arrested shortly after the incident, Pratibhanand had been absconding for the past four years.

It is learnt that in his confession before the Delhi police, Nitesh had claimed that it was Pratibhanand who had provided him with contacts for Purushottam Rana alias Monu and Sunil Mann, the two shooters who gunned down Bhardwaj at his farm house called Nitesh Kunj.

Police sources said that Pratibhanand, whose real name is Machendra Nath, had demanded Rs 5 crore from Nitesh to arrange the killing of Bhardwaj. A resident of Beed in Maharashtra, Pratibhanand allegedly nursed ambitions of setting up his own ashram in Haridwar in a bid to emphasise his stature as a godman and had hoped to use the money received from Nitesh for this purpose.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Three commandos of Haryana police and seven policemen from other states were unofficially part of Ram Rahim’s convoy on the day of the verdict

Making significant progress in the case of conspiracy to free Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the Haryana Police on Thursday arrested five people including four cops.

Three Haryana Police commandos, head constables Amit Kumar and Rajesh Kumar, and Rajesh Kumar were arrested from Panchkula, while a Rajasthan Police personnel, Om Prakash, was nabbed from Hanumangarh in Rajasthan.

The team probing Ram Rahim’s escape bid has revealed that apart from the three commandos of Haryana Police, seven policemen from other states were unofficially part of Ram Rahim’s convoy to the court on the day of the verdict.

“Three arrested Haryana Police commandos, along with other police personnel from Punjab, Chandigarh and Rajasthan, were found present in Panchkula on August 25. They were in Panchkula in police uniform. The three Haryana Police commandos were summoned, but they could not give any satisfactory reply as to why they came to Panchkula on that day,” Panchkula Police Commissioner AS Chawla said.

Separately, top Dera Sacha Sauda functionary and a close aid of Ram Rahim, Dilawar Insan was arrested in Sonepat. Dilawar, who was at large since the arrest of Ram Rahim on August 25, was booked under charge of sedition for playing a major role in organizing violent protests post Ram Rahim’s conviction.

Several policemen and key Dera functionaries have already been arrested in connection with the case. Ones to be arrested included five of the seven police personnel assigned to Ram Rahim as his Z+ security cover.

However, the two main accused, Ram Rahim’s adopted daughter Honeypreet and Dera’s chief spokesperson Aditya Insan are still at large.

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) – an apex body of Hindu sages – declares list of 14 cult leaders who have “brought disrepute to sadhus and sanyasis”

Amid growing outrage over controversial self-styled godmen and cult leaders – the likes of Gurmeet Ram Rahim, Rampal and Asaram Bapu who are all currently lodged in various jails – an apex body of Hindu sages has been forced to come out with a list of 14 “fake babas”. Former RSS member and 2007 Mecca Masjid blasts case accused Swami Aseemanand also finds his name in this ‘elite list’ of charlatans.

These self-anointed gurus and bapus who, riding on their mass popularity, financial strength and political connections, have become leaders of various cults have been called out by the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) as “charlatans who have brought disrepute to sadhus and sanyasis”.

The ABAP is an apex body of Hindu sages and saints – albeit some of its members are just as controversial as those godmen who they wish to outcast. Members of the ABAP met in Allahabad, on Sunday, to discuss the challenges posed to their brethren because of the controversial and often criminal activities and links of self-anointed godmen like Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh or Asaram Bapu – the former was recently convicted of raping two of his female followers while the latter, along with his son Narayan Sai – another guru – are facing trial in a slew of rape cases filed by their female followers, including some minors.

The Parishad’s president Swami Narendra Giri said: “We appeal to the common people to beware of such charlatans who belong to no tradition and by their questionable acts, bring disrepute to sadhus and sanyasis… As per the Hindu way of life, only followers of the age-old tradition of Sanyasi, Nath, Vaishnav, Shaiv, Udasin, Nirmal and Guru Nanak sects are saints.” Apart from these, no self-proclaimed godman or godwoman should be considered a saint as they are neither part of any akhara, nor ordained.”

Nearly all 14 self-styled godmen listed out by the Parishad have either been convicted in criminal cases or are standing trial for various offences, some as serious as rape and murder.

Here are the ‘fake babas’ as listed out by ABAP:

* Rapist godman and Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

* Asumal Sirumalani alias Asaram Bapu and his son Narayan Sai – both currently lodged in jail and facing trial on charges of rape and criminal intimidation

* Sukhwinder Kaur alias Radhe Maa – the only woman on the list, Radhe Maa has often been in news for all the wrong reasons – from her gaudy, un-saint-like costumes to criminal complaints filed against her for intimidation, forcing a woman’s in-laws to seek dowry, to sexual harassment

* Nirmaljeet Singh aka Nirmal Baba – the ‘television’ baba with a ‘Third Eye’ that sees into a person’s life and helps him suggest absurd remedies like changing the type of chutney one eats with a samosa to find financial success, Nirmal Baba too has been a controversial and polarising figure

* Sant Rampal – He claims to be an incarnation of celebrated and revered 15th-century poet Kabir. In November 2014, five bodies were discovered by the police after they raided Rampal’s ashram in Haryana’s Hisar district. Hundreds of his followers had turned the ashram into a fortress of sorts and police had to use water cannons and lathi-charge his armed supporters to finally force the godman to ‘surrender’. He is currently in jail.

* Swami Aseemanand – a former RSS member who was an accused in the 2007 Ajmer Sharif and Mecca Masjid blast cases, Aseemanand is a known right-wing, Muslim bashing ‘swami’. He was recently acquitted in the Ajmer blast case due to “benefit of doubt”

Others on the list: Icchadhari Sant Swami Bhimanand Ji Maharaj Chitrakoot (accused of running a sex racket); Swami Omji (faces range of criminal cases under Arms Act, TADA, etc), Sachchidanand Giri (a proclaimed offender also known as Builder Baba due to various real-estate linked frauds), Acharya Kushmuni Swarup, Brahaspati Giri, Malkhan Singh and Om Namah Shivay Baba.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Followers of rapist Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is currently in Sunaria jail, were asked by the local police authorities to surrender their weapons

Ten days after followers of Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, now lodged in Rohtak’s Sunaria jail, unleashed havoc across Haryana and its neighbouring states to protest against the self-styled godman’s conviction in a rape case, a cache of 33 rifles, pistols and live cartridges was seized by the police from the Dera headquarters in Sirsa district, on Monday.

The weapons that the rapist godman’s followers at the Dera headquarters were forced to surrender under orders from the local police authorities in Sirsa include double barrel and single barrel rifles, pistols, hundreds of live cartridges and several sharp-edged weapons.

“A total of 33 licensed arms including single barrel, double barrel guns and 9 mm pistols have been deposited by Dera followers,” confirmed Dinesh Kumar, SHO of the Sirsa Sadar police station, adding that the police had told Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s supporters at the DSS headquarters on Saturday “to deposit their weapons with the police within two days.”

However, Kumar said that at least 30 more weapons licensed to the Dera Sacha Sauda are yet to be deposited with the police and if the followers don’t surrender these by Tuesday, the police might have to raid the sect’s headquarters.

On Sunday, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar – who was strongly reprimanded by the Punjab and Haryana High Court for his government’s “complete collusion” with the Dera rioters during the violence of August 25 – had claimed that the administration will enter the DSS headquarters in Sirsa after the court appoints a judicial magistrate for swooping the premises.

For several days following Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s conviction by the special CBI court in Panchkula, Sirsa had remained tense amid reports that Dera followers who were cooped inside the sect’s headquarters were in possession of arms and ammunition which they could once again use to unleash the violence that was seen across Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Punjab on August 25.

The violence on August 25 had left 41 persons dead – 35 in Panchkula and six in Sirsa – while scores of others were injured and property worth several crores of rupees was gutted in the riot-affected states.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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