Ram Rahim Gets 20 Years In Jail For 2 Rape Cases: 10 Facts

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh sentencing: The Dera Sacha Sauda chief’s lawyers, who on Monday pleaded for a lighter sentence in view of what they called his philanthropic work, have said they will appeal in a higher court.

Self-styled spiritual guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was on Monday sentenced to 20 years in prison for the rape of two women followers in 2002, by a judge who flew by government helicopter to conduct court at a prison in Haryana’s Rohtak. The 50-year-old chief of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect sat on the floor and wept as he was sentenced. Ahead of the judge’s order on Monday, thousands of soldiers enforced a lockdown in Rohtak and other parts of Haryana and Punjab, where Ram Rahim has a mass following. His followers went on a deadly rampage after he was convicted on Friday, with 38 people killed and over 200 injured in the violence. There were no reports of violence on Monday after Ram Rahim was sentenced.