Vineet Kumar had changed several hard disks before the search operation at its headquarters in Sirsa.
The sect chief said this was only a media speculation, and that he is, was, and will continue to head the sect, which has a large number of followers in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's husband Robert Vadra on Tuesday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party was behind Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal being out of jail to campaign in the Haryana polls with an aim of denting the Congress' chances.
The move comes just ahead of the Adampur bypoll, which is scheduled to be held on November 3.
Was Ram Rahim's release on parole for the 10th time since his conviction in 2017 timed to coincide with the Haryana assembly elections? It does seem so when one considers he has been released mostly when there was an election in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Listing the times that Ram Rahim has been out on parole.
Rebel Akali leader Gurpartap Singh Wadala slammed Badal's move, saying instead of showing "a sense of renunciation", he issued a "dictatorial order" aimed to sideline those who want a "change" for strengthening the party
The court, however, directed the police to seek the Punjab government's permission before arresting the Sirsa-based Dera head.
A young woman said to be a follower of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect immolated herself at her house in a village near Bathinda on Friday, allegedly as she was upset due to the Dera-Sikh row.
The Sikh high priests have also demanded that Ram Rahim tender an unqualified apology for wearing clothes similar to that of the tenth Guru Gobind Singh.
Singh is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples.
A local court on Thursday extended till October 15 the interim bail given to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh in three cases of murder and sexual harassment
The allegation is that the Dera plotted against VVIPs like Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son Sukhbir Singh Badal and several others.
A special CBI team, escorted by heavily armed police, reached the Dera headquarters in Sirsa on Saturday morning and was made to wait for over three hours before the notice could be served to the Dera chief in his gufa (cave), CBI sources said.
The home ministry, which is closely monitoring the situation in these states, will give all possible assistance to them to tackle the situation
The court also directed that Singh shall remain present and join investigations as and when required in future and adjourned the matter to September 19.
The CBI court is hearing the cases of murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and former Dera manager Ranjit Singh.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been accused of hurting the religious sentiments of the Sikh community.
"Police have sent an application to the government seeking sanction to prosecute the Dera head," Bhatinda police chief Naunihal Singh told PTI over phone in Chandigarh on Saturday.
The apology letter addressed to Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Joginder Singh Vidanti was delivered to Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Avtar Singh Makkar by Congress legislator from Bathinda Harminder Singh Jassi.
Special Judge, CBI Court, R K Saini framed charges against the five -- Kishan Lal, Avtar Singh, Inder Saini, Jasbir Singh and Sabdil Singh -- in the Ranjeet murder case.
Three terrorists planning to attack two religious premises, including that of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh, were arrested in Phagwara on Thursday and huge amount of explosives recovered from them, the police said.
"I thought that rediff.com was only a portal and had nothing to do with news," he said.
"We are trying to simplify the draft statement which we will telephonically discuss with the Sikh leaders", he said.
The Dera Sacha Sauda on Friday moved a petition before the Supreme Court seeking protection for all the Deras across the country against an alleged ultimatum given by the Akal Takht to vacate them by May 27 and stop their activities.
As the Sikh's highest temporal seat gave an ultimatum to the Punjab government to close down the Deras by May 27, it rejected the regret expressed by Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
Haryana and Punjab remained on high alert with officials warning that violent miscreants will be shot at sight.
The army was kept on standby and curfew imposed in Dabwali town in Haryana's Sirsa district on Friday after a group of Sikhs and supporters of the Dera Sacha Sauda fought pitched battles in which one person was killed and 30 injured. Late on Friday night, violence spread to Gukanwali village, about 25 km from Dabwali, as Sikhs attacked an ashram belonging to the Dera and set it on fire.
The action committee of the Sirsa-based sect, in a letter to Kalam, also demanded registration of case against those who are allegedly committing excesses on its followers.
The Dera chief was returning from Rajasthan when his vehicle was attacked, but he escaped unhurt, a senior official said.
Punjab Congress chief and former chief minister Amrinder Singh on Friday visited the Dera Sacha Sauda in Sirsa and met its chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to seek the support of the sect followers in favour of his party for the January 30 assembly polls.
One person was killed when a group of Sikhs clashed with Dera Sacha Sauda supporters in Dabwali town in Sisra district of Chandigarh on Friday morning.
A metropolitan magistrate on Saturday remanded three persons, arrested in connection with the firing by the bodyguards of Dera Sacha Sauda chief outside a suburban mall in Mumbai, to police custody till July 2. The three accused -- Jagdev Singh, Satnam Aroda and Rajguru Taneja -- bodyguards of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim Singh had been arrested on Friday.
Train services in Punjab were suspended on Wednesday following blocking of tracks at several places by members of the Sikh community, who are demanding the arrest of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh in the wake of the Mumbai firing incident.The 'rail roko' call given by Damdami Taksal, Shiromani Akali Dal and certain radical Sikh organisations asked the protesters to remain peaceful.
Emerging from a meeting of Akal Takht in Amritsar, jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti told reporters that "the fresh note received from Dera head neither accepts his sin nor promises not to repeat such act again."
At least 50 people, including over 20 policemen, were injured in violent protests in Bathinda and Sriganganagar in Rajasthan.
An image of Swami Agnivesh with the Sikh clergy.
Around 50 companies of paramilitary forces had been deployed at various places which witnessed violence, officials said.
A special Central Bureau of Investigation court on Saturday directed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to be present on August 23 to hear formal framing of charges against him in connection with a 1999 case involving the rape of a female disciple.Singh was not present in the court today owing to ill health, skipping a second successive appearance. The Dera chief is the lone accused in the case of alleged sexual exploitation involving a female sect member.
Agnivesh said Sant Gurmit Ram Raheem Singh should tender an 'open hearted apology' if the situation is to improve in Punjab and other states.
A car, part of the cavalcade of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, went up in flames in Haryana's Karnal district on Saturday. The driver of the car lost control after its engine developed trouble near village Manakmajra. Suddenly there was a loud explosion and the car went up in flames, police said. Two people have been rounded up in connection with the incident, police said, adding it was too early to conclude whether it was an accident or an attack
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances