Ambala court acquits 7 dera followers in 2017 Arms case

The court of Additional Sessions Judge in Ambala has acquitted seven Dera Sacha Sauda followers who were booked in 2017 after police recovered bottles containing petrol, diesel, kerosene, along with bamboo sticks and sickles, from a Naam Charcha Ghar in Barara.

Those acquitted are Sandeep Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, Parveen Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Bhola, and Mahinder Pal, all residents of Ambala. They had been charged under Section 122 IPC (collecting arms with the intention of waging war against the government), Section 120-B IPC (criminal conspiracy), and provisions of the Explosive Substances Act.

The case had been registered amid fears of possible unrest by Dera followers ahead of the verdict in the sexual exploitation case against Gurmeet Ram Rahim by the CBI Court in Panchkula. Advocate Rohit Jain, who represented two of the accused, said, “The charges under Section 122 IPC and 120-B IPC were already dropped and now the court has acquitted all seven people in the case.”

In its order, the court observed, “The case was registered on the complaint of the Inspector. No doubt, during his examination-in-chief, he has fully supported the prosecution case from the stage of receiving information till submission of report under Section 173 CrPC on completion of investigation but in his cross-examination, he has not supported the prosecution case on material points.”

The court noted that during cross-examination, the complainant admitted that when the DDR (Daily Diary Report) was registered and the premises were checked, no accused was present at the spot. He only met the chowkidar (caretaker), who had not seen any accused persons either.

Moreover, the court pointed out that the chowkidar did not join the investigation, and no independent witnesses were present either during the arrest of accused Parveen Kumar or at the time of recording disclosure statements. The court ruled that the prosecution had “utterly failed” to prove the charges against the accused. Accordingly, Sandeep Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, Parveen Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Bhola, and Mahinder Pal were acquitted of all charges.

Haryana Tribune