Sikh preacher Dhadrianwale booked for rape, murder

Chandigarh: Punjab Police has registered a case against Sikh preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale in a 2012 case of alleged rape and murder of a woman in Patiala, the Punjab and Haryana High Court was informed.

The FIR under section 302 (murder), 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at Passiana Police station in Patiala on December 7, according to an affidavit filed by Punjab Police Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav before the high court on Tuesday. The FIR was lodged on a complaint filed by the victim’s brother, a Patiala resident. Sikh preacher Dhandrianwale, who heads Parmeshwar Dwar gurdwara, a dera in Shekhupura village in Patiala, has a large following in Punjab and among the Punjabi diaspora abroad. Dhadrianwale, in a video message, said he would cooperate with the police investigation.

“They (the family) have moved the high court. They have a doubt and they should clear their doubt. The high court has said investigate the case after registering the FIR. It may take some time but the truth will come out. I have full faith in the high court and the Punjab Police,” the Sikh preacher said.

The DGP’s affidavit came after the victim’s brother alleged that his sister was raped and murdered. He further alleged that no action was taken by police at the time of the incident. The petition of the woman’s brother was taken up in November and during the previous hearing, the bench presided over by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu had asked the DGP to explain as to what action has been taken against officials who handled the case in 2012. The woman was found in an unconscious condition outside the gate of gurdwara Parmeshwar Dwar on April 22, 2012. She later died at a hospital before she could make any statement, according to the affidavit of the DGP.