Reports of Gurmeet Ram Rahim getting clean chit 'bogus, baseless', says Punjab Police

Punjab Police on Wednesday refuted the allegations about giving clean chit to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim and any other person in sacrilege cases and termed the claims as bogus and baseless. The statement comes amid reports referring to Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota, who has been handed additional charge of Punjab DGP (Director General of Police), that he had given a clean chit to Ram Rahim while heading an SIT (Special Investigation Team) to probe the Bargari Sacrilege cases in 2015.

On October 12, 2015, 'Angs of Holy Sri Guru Granth Sahib' were founded scatted in Bargari village and FIR was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 295, 120-B at Bajakhana Police station. "An SIT headed by Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota, then Director Bureau of Investigation was constituted to investigate the sacrilege case of Holy Sri Guru Granth Sahib at village Bargari," the statement said.

The Punjab Police spokesperson clarified that SIT worked in the case for 20 days following which the case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation. "Entire investigation was conducted by CBI, not the SIT headed by Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota," the spokesperson son adding that no clean chit has been given to the godman or any other person.

Sahota gets addl charge as Punjab Police chief

A 1988-batch IPS officer, Sahota was given additional charge of Punjab DGP on Saturday. He was given the charge when incumbent Dinakar Gupta decided to go on one-month leave. Sahota will have the additional charge till the procedure of selecting a new DGP is finalised.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim: History of the Godman

Gurmeet Ram Rahim, popularly called as MSG- 'Messenger of God' is a religious leader, actor, singer and director who was convicted in 2017. He was pronounced guiding of raping two female disciplines and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in each case. He was also pronounced guilty of killing journalist Ramchandra Chhatrapati and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

When he was convicted, his followers had rampaged across Punjab and Haryana, destroying public and state properties. Deaths and injuries were also reported in the protests. To avoid such incidents in future, almost all pleas for parole has been turned down by the state government.