Mumbai, October 8: A sessions court in Mumbai has acquitted 27 Sikh men who were accused of rioting after a legal battle of 15 years. Observing that there was lack of evidence against the accused, UC Deshmukh, the Session Court’s Judge, acquitted them.

The accused and their families received full legal support from the Singh Sabha in Mumbai Dadar since the beginning. Others like the late Tara Singh, four-time MLA from Mulund, and advocate Saveena Bedi Sachar also provided much needed assistance to the youths during their long battle. Advocate Saveena has been representing the accused since 2019. HC on 'Malicious Prosecution': Rajasthan HC Acquits Man Who Was Wrongly Convicted and Incarcerated for 12 Years Over His Wife's Murder, Directs State Government To Pay Rs 25 Lakh As Compensation.

According to Advocate Saveena Bedi Sachar, the case dates back to June 2008 when Self-Proclaimed Godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim made an ap­pear­ance at the Nir­mal Lifestyle Mall in Mum­bai’s Mulund and said that he is the Avatar of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Sikh guru. This outraged the Sikh men who gathered in large numbers to protest against the blasphemous impersonation by Ram Rahim. 'Rs 100 Too Small Bribe Amount': Bombay High Court Upholds Acquittal of Government Medical Official Accused in Corruption Case.

Things however took a deadly turn when Ram Rahim’s personal gunman shot at one of the protesters Balkar Singh killing him in the process. Outraged by Balkar Singh’s death, the Sikh youths started a peaceful protest outside the Mulund police station along with some Hindu boys. However, Ram Rahim used his political power and the police lathicharged on the protesting youths and released tear gas on them, said advocate Saveena.

The cops accused the 27 Sikh youths of rioting and arrested them. However, thanks to the timely intervention of Singh Sabha Mumbai Dadar, the youths obtained bail within seven days and had been attending court hearings ever since.

Balkar Singh’s family, however, continues to remain in sorrow as case against Ram Rahim’s bodyguards could not be proved due to lack of evidence.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 08, 2023 10:51 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).