New Delhi, February 2: Trouble mounted for Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday filed a charge sheet against him and two doctors for allegedly forcibly castrating 400 devotees of the sect in Sirsa. The self-styled holy man is serving a 20-year jail term after being convicted in two rape cases. The two doctors who have been charged along with him are Pankaj Garg and MP Singh.

As per reports, the charge sheet was filed before the special CBI court in Panchkula which had earlier convicted Gurmeet of rape. According to reports, the petition in the high court was filed by former sect follower Hans Raj Chauhan who alleged that he had been castrated at the behest of the sect chief.  The petitioner claims that along with him 400 followers were castrated inside the Dera premises after being told that this will lead them closer to God. According to a report by TOI, Punjab and Haryana high court on December 23, 2014 had ordered a CBI investigation into charges of forced castration of followers inside the Dera after hearing Chauhan’s petition.

The case relating to the alleged castration of 400 devotees was registered on the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, reports said. To recall, a special CBI court in August 2017 had sentenced the godman to 20 years of imprisonment, 10-year each for the two rape cases in which he was convicted. He was also ordered to pay a fine of Rs 15 lakh.

According to a PTI report, the CBI had registered the case of alleged criminal conspiracy for voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means among other charges under the Indian Penal Code against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and others in 2015.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 02, 2018 10:09 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).