Panchkula, January 17: A Special CBI Court on Thursday sentenced Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and three others to life imprisonment in connection with the murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. The self-styled godman has been named as the main conspirator in the case which dates back to 2002. The court pronounced the quantum of punishment for Ram Rahim Singh and three other convicts in the murder case through video conferencing on Thursday. The CBI had earlier asked for death penalty for the self-styled godman.

The Special CBI Court Judge Jagdeep Singh had convicted the self-styled godman and three others -- Kuldeep Singh, Nirmal Singh and Krishan Lal -- in the murder case on January 11. All the four were convicted under Section 302 (murder) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. Nirmal Singh and Krishan Lal were also convicted under the Arms Act. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Convicted in Journalist's Murder Case, Sentencing on January 17.

Journalist Ramchandra Chhatarpati murder case: Three other convicts Kuldeep Singh, Nirmal Singh and Krishan Lal, have also been awarded life imprisonment. The Court has also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each. https://t.co/rclAjUMaCs

— ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2019

Earlier this month, the Haryana government had filed the plea, citing that the movement of Dera chief could lead to law and order situation. The CBI court then accepted the state's plea allowing Ram Rahim to appear through video conferencing for hearing today.

Ahead of the pronouncement of the sentence, security was beefed up in Panchkula to prevent any untoward incident. The 51-year-old Dera chief is currently serving a 20-year prison term in Rohtak's Sunaria jail for raping two of his women followers.

The journalist was shot at in October 2002 after his newspaper, 'Poora Sach', published an anonymous letter narrating how women were being sexually exploited by Gurmeet Ram Rahim at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa. According to reports, Chhatrapati later succumbed to injuries and a case was registered in 2003. The case was handed over to the CBI in 2006.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 17, 2019 06:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).