Ram Rahim broke down and pleaded for forgiveness

Rohtak: Dera Chief has been sentenced 10 years of jail after his conviction in a 2002 rape case that triggered violence leaving 38 dead and scores injured in Haryana.

CBI Judge Jagdeep Singh, pronounced the sentence in a special courtroom set up inside the Sunaria jail where Ram Rahim (50), is lodged since last Friday after he was convicted.

The judge was brought to Rohtak by a chopper from Chandigarh and landed in a helipad near the jail located on the outskirts of Rohtak.

It has been reported that when the judge was pronouncing the sentence, Ram Rahim sat on the floor of the courtroom and started crying after which the jail warden and prison staff rapped him. He also pleaded forgiveness stating that his earlier record as a social worker should be taken into consideration.

The special CBI court of Judge Jagdeep Singh in Panchkula last Friday held Ram Rahim guilty of rape in a case that was registered on the basis of an anonymous written complaint in April 2002 that he had sexually exploited two female followers. The case was registered by the CBI in December 2002 on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.