JALANDHAR: Sirsa dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been booked for hurting religious sentiments on the complaint of a Dalit group for his alleged objectionable comments on Guru Ravidas and Satguru Kabir during a discourse on February 5 last which was streamed through a YouTube channel belonging to the dera.
After he was let off without even presenting a challan in earlier case of hurting religious sentiments in May 2007, it is second case against Gurmeet in Punjab after around 16 years.
In his complaint to Jalandhar Rural police, Guru Ravidas Tiger Force president Jassi Talhan said that addressing a big congregation, Gurmeet narrated a tale about Satuguru Kabir and guru Ravidas which was distortion of history and its contents were offensive about both the revered figures. He mentioned that it was streamed on Gurmeet’s personal channel DR MSG Topic.
"By using such language for Guru Ravidas and Satguru Kabir, who have followers across the country, Ram Rahim has tried to vitiate atmosphere of the country. This has led to great anger in Scheduled Caste community and if he would not be nailed then SC community would be constrained to punish him themselves," he said in his complaint while reproducing contents from the tale narrated by Gurmeet.
He submitted the complaint to Patara Police Station SHO on March 3 and a case under section 295 A of IPC was registered on March 7.
Gurmeet is already undergoing sentence in rape and murder cases but is being repeatedly released on parole by Haryana government which is also leading to criticism from different quarters. Shiromani gurdwara parbandhak Committee has also filed a petition in Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging his repeated release on parole. Haryana government has already defended his release arguing that he was not a hardened criminal. In its reply in the High Court Punjab government had said that his release could spoil law and order situation in Punjab.
Dera chief was let off in 2007 case without prosecution
It is the second case registered against Gurmeet in Punjab for hurting religious sentiments. First time he was booked in May 2007 for allegedly imitating Tenth Sikh master Guru Gobind Singh at a congregation at Salabatpura.
At that time section 153 A of IPC – promoting enmity between two groups, was also slapped against him. Even as Punjab home department had given sanction for his prosecution and in 2008 then Bathinda SSP had said in an affidavit to the Punjab and Haryana High Court that police had enough evidence to prosecute him, a few days before 2012 assembly polls, police filed cancellation report which was finally accepted by a Bathinda court in August 2014.
Later, sacrilege incidents were traced to his dera and he has also been arraigned as an accused in three cases related to Bargari sacrilege. Maur blast, which killed seven, four days before 2017 assembly polls was also traced to his dera.
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