The Punjab and Haryana High Court today acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in the murder case of former Dera official Ranjit Singh, who was shot dead in 2002. The murder was allegedly connected to Singh's suspected involvement in circulating an anonymous letter detailing Ram Rahim's sexual exploitation of women at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa, Haryana.

In 2021, a CBI court had convicted Ram Rahim and four others, sentencing them to life imprisonment for the murder. Ram Rahim, 56, appealed this conviction in the high court. Today, the high court acquitted Ram Rahim and the four others previously convicted.

Ram Rahim is currently serving a prison sentence after being convicted of raping two followers and for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Prajapati, who extensively reported on the sexual assault allegations against him.

The Dera Sacha Sauda chief first made headlines when shocking allegations of sexual assault surfaced, prompting a CBI investigation. In 2014, a decade into the probe, Ram Rahim claimed impotence, but the court rejected this assertion. His conviction in 2017 led to widespread violence and arson, resulting in 30 deaths and over 250 injuries, necessitating the deployment of the Army to restore order. Ram Rahim is serving a 20-year sentence and has appealed this conviction in the high court.