Haryana assesses Dera Sacha Sauda’s land worth at Rs 1,600 crore

Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s conviction in two rape cases has hit at the heart of his 1,000-acre Sirsa dera, now largely emptied of its followers. (Source: Express Photo by Praveen Khanna)

The investigating agencies have located Dera Sacha Sauda’s land worth at least Rs 1,600 crore as per collector rate and spread in 16 districts of Haryana. The market value could be much higher. According to details accessed by The Indian Express, the dera has a maximum 953 acres of land in six tehsils of Sirsa district, which has a total worth Rs 1,435 crore. The ownership lies with the dera or its Naam Charcha Ghars (congregation centres).

The dera has its headquarters at Sirsa where it has a five-star hotel, a cinema hall, a multi-specialty hospital, eight educational institutions, a shopping mall, a cricket stadium and palatial houses, apart from several manufacturing units but worth of these is not part of the land evaluation.

Apart from Sirsa, the dera has land holdings mainly for the Naam Charcha Ghars in 15 districts which have set of rooms, sheds, offices and toilets. A Naam Charcha Ghar at Paluwas in Bhiwani has a tractor also. The value of these small properties have also been added with the worth of the land. The value of the dera’s land and other properties in Ambala district, where it has 14 Naam Charcha Ghars, have been evaluated at Rs 33 crore.

However, the dera has maximum Nam Charcha Ghars in Sirsa’s neighbouring district Fatehabad where it has 23 branches, mostly in the villages. The cost of the land and related properties has been estimated at Rs 20.70 crore in Fatehabad district. Many of the 16 districts, which dera has influence, have multiple Nam Charcha Ghars to run the sect’s religious activities.

During the investigations, the officers have also pointed out land encroachment and violations of building plans at a few places. According to an official report, a Nam Charcha Ghar at Jhajjar has four rooms, one varamada, kitchen, toilet and teen shed but details of these structures have not be given to the revenue record. The report also mentions that the dera has encroached two marlas of land belonging to the Wakf Board at Jhajjar.

Haryana DGP BS Sandhu said, “All details of the properties will be submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on September 27. Next action will be taken only after submission of the reports to the court.” A Special Investigation Team (SIT) at Sirsa has also been formed to look into the matters related to the dera.

However, dera spokesperson Sandeep Mishra said, “The High Court had ordered evaluation of the properties but the administration has seized all these properties illegally. We are not able to even give salaries to the staff of hospital at Sirsa.” “The dera is a registered trust and each of its properties have been evaluated and tax is being paid to the government as per the rules,” Mishra added.

The Haryana Police had earlier said it had sanitised 103 Naam Charcha Ghars in different districts and recovered 14 motorcycles, one tractor, four other two-wheelers and one car, besides, a large number of weapons and other objectionable items. At Sirsa, the dera has reportedly 30 units making biscuits, candies, mineral water, pickles, juices, cosmetics, seeds, pesticides and fertilizers apart from a fleet of vehicles, including 24 luxury SUVs, each costing more than Rs 1 crore, tractors, fancy motorcycles and trucks.