Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim and three others have been convicted for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. Ram Rahim is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for raping two of his female followers. The quantum of sentence in the murder conviction will be pronounced on January 17.

Chhatrapati, a journalist who published Poora Sach, a local daily, was shot in October 2002 and subsequently died in November of the same year. The Times of India reports that Katta Singh, a former driver of Ram Rahim’s, had told the court that the Dera chief had ordered the killing of Chhatrapati.

Chhatrapati had been the first one to publish an anonymous letter about the rape of a sadhvi by Ram Rahim, when other corporate media houses refused to. Read Newslaundry‘s detailed report on what happened.

Elaborate security forces had already been deployed in Haryana ahead of the verdict, especially in Panchkula, Sirsa, the headquarters of Dera, and Rohtak districts. Economic Times reports that several companies of the state armed police, anti-riot police and commando forces were deployed to deal with any law and order situations. The preparations were made keeping in mind the violence that erupted in August 2017 when Ram Rahim had been convicted of rape. Over 40 people had been injured at that time.