The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday will hear the appeal of jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim Singh against the order of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Court.
On August 28, a CBI court awarded 20-year-imprisonment to Ram Rahim Singh for the rape and criminal intimidation of two 'Sadhvis' (women followers) who were residing in a hostel located on the premises of the Dera back in 1999. He was also slapped with a fine of Rs 30 lakh.
The Dera chief has filed the appeal through his lawyer SK Garg Narwana.
Following the verdict, violence broke out in parts of Haryana, Punjab and the National Capital Region (NCR) in which 38 people were killed and over two hundred were injured.
On September 27, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the Income Tax department and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to conduct investigations into the properties of Ram Rahim.
The court ordered to scan both movable and immovable assets of the Dera chief.
The whole rape case came to light in April 2002 when an anonymous letter was sent to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the then Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court by the two Sadhvis that they had been sexually exploited by Ram Rahim.
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