SC to hear Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's plea seeking relief from CBI probe in rape case

New Delhi [India], Nov. 30 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear a plea filed by Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in connection with a 14 year-old rape case in which two Dera followers had accused him of molestation. The case was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the directions of the high court. The hearing is in going on in a trial court. The Supreme Court had recently allowed Ram Rahim to file an application for directions to call K L Raina (Investigation Officer) as a court witness. K L Raina, who deposed before the CBI court, was the second IO in the rape case and associated with it for about six months in 2003. He was the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) at that time and later retired as Superintendent of Police (SP). S K Garg Narwana, the advocate of Ram Rahim claimed Raina's statement came as a relief to his client. "He has specifically stated that the two alleged rape victims on whose statements Ram Rahim is now facing trial did not allege rape in 2003 when the CBI had approached them. This is what we have been saying. When we levelled allegations against the (second) IO, he pressurised the woman followers to allege rape in 2006," said Narwana. The sexual exploitation case against Dera chief was registered in 2002 by the CBI on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court after anonymous letters were circulated about the alleged sexual exploitation of female followers by Gurmeet Ram Rahim. The letter alleged that the two female followers were raped by the Dera chief. Both the victims had recorded their statements before the court and had confirmed that they were raped. Their statements are part of the CBI charge sheet which was filed on July 30, 2007 in the CBI special court. Gurmeet Ram Rahim has denied the charges and has also told the court that he is not 'capable' of making physical relations. (ANI)