Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh gets 20 years of imprisonment in two rape cases
The judge was flown by a government helicopter to conduct court at a prison in Haryana's Rohtak to avoid any further violence.
Ram Rahim Singh will serve two consecutive 10-year jail terms, the CBI stated while clarifying the quantum of imprisonment.
He has also been fined Rs. 15 lakh in each case.
The prosecution demanded maximum punishment for the rape convict while the Dera chief's defence argued that Ram Rahim is a social worker and urged the judge to take a lenient view.
The CBI urged the judge to treat the case as 'rarest of rare' during its argument.
Reports said that the Dera chief broke down in court and pleaded for leniency while the judge was reading out the sentence.
Ram Rahim will be medically examined and then will don prison clothes as prisoner number 1997 at the Rohtak jail.
Meanwhile, keeping the importance of the situation in mind, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh called for an emergency meeting.
Ram Rahim was convicted by the CBI court on Friday in a rape case that dates back to 2002.
Following the verdict, Panchkula and Sirsa witnessed riots by the Ram Rahim followers resulting in 30 odd deaths.
On Monday, the security measures were upped and thousands of paramilitary troops and anti-riot police blocked all roads near the Rohtak prison.
Even the Army was kept on standby.
The state government also asked people to stay indoor and schools as well as colleges in Haryana remained closed.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.