Gurmeet Ram Rahim Gets Life Sentence for Murder – Still a Messiah for Millions?

In August 2017 the head of the Dera Sachcha Sauda, the god-man who calls himself Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan was convicted of rape. This is when we realised that the man was far more dangerous than a bumptious, rather bizarre spiritual leader who made self aggrandisement movies and YouTube songs about 'love chargers'. Now he has been convicted of murder and is sentenced to life in prison. We wonder anew how this man enjoyed the adulation of legions of followers lakhs while effortlessly evading any consequences of his crimes; which we now know are many!

The many crimes of Ram Rahim

For a moment, let us lay aside the criminal assault the man and his coterie unleashed upon us in the form of songs such as the Lovecharger (view video if you dare) and several full length feature films. Inflicting his excessively hirsute, tubby self and seemingly cherubic face upon an unsuspecting populace is the least of his crimes. The sheer sinister scale of his criminality and the mafia like spread of his operations is what is really scary.

Now that the godman is found guilty of rape and murder, we realise the type and scale of his crimes. Dera Sachcha Sauda is the organisation into which he was initiated at age 7; which he then went on to head and control. The Dera is known to be tremendously rich, with about 46 ashrams. The headquarters in Sirsa, Haryana is said to be like a fortress with its own private militia. It is said that half of Sirsa used to be under the direct control of the Dera. We can only guess at the sort of criminal activity ongoing inside of his Sirsa fiefdom where the Chief’s word was the gospel; his every pronouncement the law! There are reports of forced castrations, illegal trade in arms and opium, land grabs and more.

The Dera Chief was known to have tremendous political clout and could sway the result of elections simply by lending support to a candidate. He received praise from no less than the Prime Minister of the nation and even received large grants from ministers. All this has ceased after his conviction and politicians of all hues have distanced themselves from the man they now view as politically disastrous to be associated with.

However, his followers remain staunch

We all know how the Dera Chief’s followers wreaked havoc in Panchkula following his sentencing in the rape cases. There was large scale rioting leading to several deaths, as many as 300 being injured and damage and destruction worth many crores. During the investigations into the rapes and murder that he is now convicted of, several horrifying details about the inner workings of the Dera had come to light. As many as 18 sadhvis had left the dera in 2002 for suspicious reasons; the incident that journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati was investigating. Details about the Dera Chief’s sinister workings and strange sexual preferences also came to light.

None of these revelations seem to have deterred the devotion of many of his followers. Many still staunchly refuse to believe that he is guilty of any of his crimes and insist that he has been framed or falsely convicted. Then there are those who believe that his humanitarian work, endeavours to rid society of evil practices, uplift the poor and provide succor for the troubled outweighs any crime he may have committed. Bizarrely the supposed ‘good work’ that he has done absolves him of any misdeed in the eyes of these devotees.

Supposed 'good work'

His followers say that he is responsible for thousands of ‘dowry free marriages’, for educating people and for providing spiritual guidance. They laud him for his various humanitarian initiatives and the tweets are a consent stream on social media sites such as Twitter. These devotees are a force to reckon with on Twitter and they all refer to him with the honorific ‘Saint Dr.’ @Gurmeetramrahim Singh Ji Insan. Handles such as MSG Fan Club, MSG My Jaan, Guru ka Diwana, Mera Mahi MSG are constantly tweeting positive messages about him, the dera and their initiatives. It is as if there was no conviction, no baba in jail!

According to some estimates, there are still millions who follow and revere him. The fatal attraction of various babas, gurus, godmen and godwomen is quite unshakable. For the average Indian, life is still a constant struggle. In the midst of this daily grind if there is someone who appears wise, benign and kind; who seems to offer guidance in overcoming the burdens of life, the follower is just exceedingly grateful. So much so that they don’t really care if that guide and guru is a criminal; a convicted rapist and murderer.

Do you have something interesting you would like to share? Write to us at [email protected]