Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan. The story of this godman is as complicated as his name. The journey of his verdict is as big as his name. The soi-disant ‘multi-skilled guru’ was recently found guilty in two rape cases of 2002. A special CBI court in Rohtak (Haryana) sentenced him to two successive imprisonment terms of 10 years each. No sooner than the sentence was pronounced by the Special CBI judge Jagdeep Singh, the controversial baba sparked a dramatic scene in the courtroom. The baba who was delivering spiritual discourses until a few weeks ago, reportedly fell on the ground and cried like a toddler for mercy.

With folded hands, he pleaded for commutation of sentence but the Judge rejected the same and held that such criminals don’t deserve any mercy. Like any typical brat, he refused to leave the courtroom until he was dragged outside.

Violence Erupted Ahead of Judgment

A tense state of turmoil and aggression was anticipatable before the final verdict. Haryana chief minister Amarinder Singh appealed to the people of Haryana and Punjab to maintain peace and tranquility. He also stated in another video that he will not allow any upsurge of hostility. However, very soon the situation that erupted in his state puked holes in his claims. Ram Rahim’s blind supporters triggered numerous acts of violence in Panchkula that became extremely knotty for the police to handle.  Some vehicles of police and journalists were set ablaze.  Two coaches of the Rewa Express were set on fire. They also attempted to burn down a railway station but the Punjab police caught them. Internet services were suspended for a few days in the whole region. CRPF and BSF forces were deployed to control the violent uproar. Unfortunately, dozens of people were killed by the time.

Public property was exceedingly smashed by the violent supporters of Ram Rahim. Although Ram Rahim too posted a video asking his followers to maintain tranquility, there was no considerable impact on them. The whole episode indicates that the mayhem was well planned beforehand and was being executed under the direction of instructors.

As the miscreants caused loss of several crores of both private and public property in Haryana, the common High Court for the states of Punjab and Haryana ruled that all losses will be compensated by forfeiting the equivalent assets owned by the Dera chief.

Government’s Support to Ram Rahim

As we saw in the case of self-professed godmen like Rampal and Asaram, the culprits masquerading as spiritual gurus get undue support of the political leaders chiefly for acquiring the vote bank of their followers who commonly belong to a separate community. This was again manifested in the case of Ram Rahim, where the Haryana chief minister was seen exhibiting leniency towards Ram Rahim and addressing the offender who was proven guilty by the court as “Ram Rahim Ji”. This shows how the extravagant endorsement for such convicts masquerading as peculiar godmen is politically used to compromise with the tranquillity. The matter is pretty much clear that although such uproar was foreseen, no proportionate measure was taken to tackle it beforehand. Although Khattar has accepted the lapses in security, he again backed the supporters of Ram Rahim by claiming that some rogues got mixed with the “peaceful protesters.” This claim is indeed groundless since it itself pokes holes in Khattar’s earlier statement that the security was well arranged.

Now it is anticipable that the local executive officers will be made the scapegoat while those higher authorities which gave direction to the local police will be left unprobed. Since Khattar is known to be a devotee of Dera chief, this purposed skirmish proves the fact that he has been supporting him and his supporters throughout the proceedings and even now after the verdict. The common Punjab and Haryana High Court had to intervene in the whole happening and reprimand this ulterior support bestowed upon the culprit Ram Rahim. The court admonished CM Khattar and the Centre over the series of violence ignited by the Dera supporters, which manifest how often the political leaders compromise with the law and order for votes and political gains. Even the Court has openly pronounced that the state government of Haryana deliberately allowed an upsurge of the reported vandalism.

To add fuel to the fire, BJP’s MP from Unnao (UP), Sakshi Maharaj, gave a very controversial statement and accused the judicial magistrate of unjustifiably targeting Ram Rahim. Sakshi Maharaj stated – “Crores of people are supporting Ram Rahim, and only one person is complaining against him. Is one person right or are crores of people right?”

Aftermath of the Whole Episode

Now that this judgment has been delivered, it is evident that Ram Rahim will regret his evil side each day during his long jail term. As the old adage goes – “out of sight, out of mind,” people will surely stop thinking about him in the long run. However, this judgment is indeed a hit back to the millions of blind supporters who unnecessarily follow any peculiar person who disguises as a ‘messenger of God’. Those who will learn a lesson from this case will develop a rational mind so as to not get enmeshed in any problematic situation. Those who will ignore, might become a victim of subterfuge at some point of life. This judgment is, yet again, not just a warning to the people, but also to all those hypocrite sadhus who adopt the lifestyle of sainthood with the central objective to exploit innocent followers. Judgments like this should serve as didactic cases for exposing the ghastliness behind the glamour of superstitions.