in 2002, an anonymous letter was sent to the Prime Minister of India, which informed of Singh’s rape of the author of the letter and several other women.
However, it was not until 2007 until charges were filed as two women came forward to officials and confessed of the guru’s rape.
Last Friday’s verdict of the guru’s rape conviction saw storms of angry supporters violently protesting around the streets of India. It has been reported that this incident which left 38 civilians dead and scores more injured.
Following this event, a zero-tolerance “shoot on sight” policy has been introduced by the police in the event of any further protest. As well as this, curfews have been set in the Indian states where Singh is known to have a huge fanbases in.
Judge Jagdeep Singh delivered a very serious order with regards to the guru’s conviction, saying that he deserved the “maximum punishment” for his actions and “awarding lesser than maximum punishment would shock the collective conscience of the nation”. The Judge also stated in his order:
"The victims put the convict on the pedestal of 'god' and revered him. However, the convict committed breach of the gravest nature by sexually assaulting such gullible and blind followers,”
In this week’s court hearing also, Ram Rahim Singh’s lawyers pleaded that the guru should be offered a lighter sentence because he was suffering from a series of medical conditions such as diabetes. As well as this, they coined the 50 year old “a law abiding citizen” and stressed of his caring attitude towards the welfare of the public.
Calling the guru “a wild beast” however, Judge Jagdeep Singh was not convinced by these statements and thus issued a sentence.
After the hearing, the Times of India reported that the guru had to undergo a medical examination and was later escorted to a cell in jail. It is also reported that Singh himself is planning to appeal against his sentencing.
Sources - Sky News, BBC News, Santiago Times
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