Ten-year jail term for Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

A special CBI court on Monday sentenced Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to 10 years in prison after his conviction in a 2002 rape case that triggered violence, leaving 38 dead and injuring scores of people in Haryana.

CBI Judge Jagdeep Singh, who holds the court in Panchkula, near Chandigarh, pronounced the sentence in a special courtroom set up inside the Sunaria jail in Rohtak where the 50-year-old self-styled godman, is lodged since last Friday after his conviction.

The judge was brought to Rohtak by a chopper from Chandigarh and it landed in a helipad near the jail located on the outskirts of the city.

The judge awarded the 10-year jail term after hearing arguments on the quantum of sentence by prosecution and defence lawyers.