Chhatrapati murder case: CBI court rejects plea to recall witnesses

Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, March 17

In yet another blow to Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the Special CBI Court here today rejected the defence application of re-summoning of prosecution witnesses in connection with the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.

In the application, the accused had sought re-summoning of Chhatrapati’s son Aridaman, and other witnesses in the murder case on the plea of alleged shooters Kuldeep Singh and Nirmal Singh. CBI counsel HPS Verma said that the court had turned down the defence application and now final arguments in the case would start on March 27.

Besides Ram Rahim Singh, his manager Krishan Lal and two shooters—Kuldeep Singh and Nirmal Singh —are the main accused in the Chhatrapati murder case.

In their application, the defence had stated that police post in charge Inspector Vijay Singh authored the murder complaint allegedly on the oral statement of Aridaman, younger son of slain journalist Chhatrapati, who was then aged 13 years. They doubted his statement given to the police then. The accused had sought the adjournment of the murder trials till the disposal of the application.

According to the CBI charge sheet, dera manager Krishan Lal had given his licensed revolver and a walkie-talkie of the dera to two shooters in the presence of the dera chief. Thereafter both accused fired at Chhatarpati in front of his residence on October 24, 2002. He died three weeks later. Chhatarpati had been writing against the dera chief in his newspaper ‘Poora Sach’.