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Agence France-Presse

A court in India on Friday convicted a religious cult leader of murdering a journalist who exposed him for committing rampant sexual abuses.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who headed the powerful Dera Sacha Sauda sect which has millions of followers worldwide, is already serving a 20-year prison sentence for rape.
The court found 51-year-old Singh and three of his close aides guilty of killing local newspaper journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati in 2002.
Chhatrapati was shot outside his house after his local newspaper published an anonymous letter describing rampant sexual abuse by Singh at his sprawling and luxurious sect headquarters.

The maximum sentence is the death penalty.
When Singh was convicted in 2017 of raping two of his disciples, his followers went on the rampage leaving nearly 40 people dead.
To avoid a repeat, Friday’s court proceedings were conducted via video link from his jail cell in the northern state of Haryana.
Indian guru convicted of rape has millions of devoted followers – and a Bollywood franchise
Riot police patrolled outside the special court in the city of Panchkula.
Since 2015, Singh has also been on trial for castrating 400 of his followers, who alleged that they were promised spiritual gains.
His sect defended the sterilisation, claiming it was done to “safeguard female followers from possible sexual advances”.
Singh is also accused in the murder of his former manager after he threatened to expose his wrongdoings.


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India

Indian guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh convicted of killing reporter who exposed him for sex abuse

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is the head of religious sect Dera Sacha Sauda. Photo: AFP

Indian ‘guru in bling’ sentenced to 20 years jail for rape, lawyers plan appeals

Indian guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. File photo: AFP

FILE - In this Oct. 5, 2016 file photo, Indian spiritual guru who calls himself Saint Dr. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan, center, greets followers as he arrives for a press conference ahead of the release of his new movie "MSG, The Warrior Lion Heart," in New Delhi, India. A judge on Monday, AUg.28, 2017 sentenced the flamboyant and controversial Indian spiritual guru to 10 years in prison on charges of raping two female followers. (AP Photo/Tsering Topgyal, File)

epaselect epa06167924 Indian security personnel stands guard on one of the roads leading to the Sunaria Jail where self-styled guru and spiritual leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is kept, in Rohtak, Haryana, India, 28 August 2017. An Indian court is expected to announce the sentence for Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh after he was convicted for raping two of his followers. At least 32 people were killed and around 250 injured in a series of riots that broke out in parts of Haryana, Punjab and in Delhi after his conviction. EPA/STR

Indian policemen stand guard at a temporary road blockade near Sunaria Jail where Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is being held in Rohtak, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from New Delhi, India, Monday, August 28, 2017. A curfew is in place in a north Indian town where a spiritual guru who was convicted of rape last week is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday. A judge will travel to the prison where the guru has been held since being convicted Friday. The conviction sparked deadly protests. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Supporters of Indian religious leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh throw stones at security forces next to burning vehicles during clashes in Panchkula on August 25, 2017. At least 14 people were killed and dozens more wounded August 25 when violent protests erupted over a court's decision to convict a controversial Indian guru for raping two devotees, a local hospital official said. / AFP PHOTO / MONEY SHARMA

In this photo taken on August 27, 2017 followers of the controversial Indian guru Ram Rahim Singh walk outside the 'Dera Sacha Sauda' ashram in Sirsa. An Indian guru convicted of rape awaited sentencing on August 28, with authorities ramping up security amid fears of fresh violence days after protests over his guilty verdict left 36 dead. / AFP PHOTO / Money SHARMA

epa06162656 Vehicles set on fire by suspected Dera Sacha Sauda sect members during riots in Panchkula, India, 25 August 2017. According to media reports, at least 28 people were killed and around 250 injured in a series of riots that broke out in in parts of Haryana, Punjab and in Delhi after an Indian court convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief and India's self-styled guru and spiritual leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for raping two of his followers, sentencing him to 7 years in jail. EPA/STR

Indian comedian arrested for imitating ‘guru in bling’ Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh during TV appearance

(FILES) This file photo of the Indian chief of the religious sect Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh shows him gesturing during a news conference to launch the score for his film 'MSG-2 The Messenger' in Mumbai on September 8, 2015. Indian police arrested popular comedian Kiku Sharda on January 12, 2016 for hurting religious sentiments after he mimicked controversial "godman" Ram Rahim Singh on a television show, an official said. Ram Rahim Singh was already also under police investigation for allegedly encouraging 400 followers to undergo castrations at his ashram so they could get closer to God. AFP PHOTO/ PUNIT PARANJPE/FILES

The Indian chief of the religious sect Dera Sacha Sauda, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. Photo: AFP

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Asia

South Asia

Singh is the leader of Dera Sacha Sauda, a religious cult which has millions of devoted followers worldwide
He is already serving a 20-year jail sentence for the rape of two disciples


Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the leader of a cult with millions of followers, faces a maximum sentence of death.


Religion

Sexual harassment and assault

Crime

Cults

Indian guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh convicted of killing reporter who exposed him for sex abuse

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Singh is the leader of Dera Sacha Sauda, a religious cult which has millions of devoted followers worldwide He is already serving a 20-year jail sentence for the rape of two disciples

Singh is the leader of Dera Sacha Sauda, a religious cult which has millions of devoted followers worldwide

He is already serving a 20-year jail sentence for the rape of two disciples