India guru rape case: 23 die in unrest as Ram Rahim Singh convicted

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This topic contains 8 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by  Dang Martin 7 years, 5 months ago.

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  • #4313

    Rebel
    Keymaster

    At least 23 people have been killed in violent protests over the rape conviction of a popular religious leader in north India.

    The victims are believed to be Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s followers. Angry supporters rampaged through Panchkula town, near Chandigarh.

    About 2,500 of Singh’s followers have been arrested, police said.

    Earlier, his devotees smashed cars and set media vans alight, saying he was innocent.

    More than 200,000 of his followers had flocked to the Chandigarh area ahead of Friday’s verdict.
    Singh, who says he has millions of disciples, was found guilty of raping two women at the headquarters of his sect, known as Dera Sacha Sauda, in 2002.

    Thousands of army, police and paramilitary forces were deployed. They fired tear-gas canisters and water cannon into the crowd to try to restore control, says the BBC’s Ravinder Singh Robin in Panchkula.

    However, the region’s police chief BS Sandhu said the violence was now under control.

    Curfews have been imposed in several areas of Chandigarh city and across the state of Punjab, and internet services were suspended.

    Violence also spread to the capital, Delhi, where two train coaches were set on fire, according to reports.

    Singh, 50, was taken into protective custody by the army following the conviction.

    The court is expected to sentence him on Monday.

    Who is Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh?

    • Controversial leader of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, which claims to have 60 million followers around the world
    • Took over the sect – which describes itself as “a non-profit social welfare and spiritual organisation” – when he was 23
    • Performs at rock concerts, acts in films and even has his own line of food products
    • Known as “rockstar baba” and “guru of bling” because of his shiny, colourful clothes
    • Has been accused of mocking Sikh and Hindu figures
    • Has been investigated for murder and rape, charges he denies
    • Has been accused of forcing followers to undergo castration to “get closer to god”

    Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh criticised his counterpart in the state of Haryana for allowing so many of Singh’s followers to travel to Chandigarh.

    Chandigarh is the capital of both states. The border between the two states has been sealed.

    Singh had arrived at court in Panchkula, near Chandigarh, from his ashram in Haryana in a convoy of more than 100 vehicles.

    Schools and offices in the area were closed, trains were stopped, roads were blocked and three stadiums were set aside as makeshift prisons in case of trouble, officials said.

    Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-41049705

    #4314

    JadeBlackOlive
    Participant

    Terrible behaviour! Again!

    #4316

    I don’t believe he is a god, even if 60 million people do. I cannot find any objective evidence to suggest he is a god. I submit that his followers only believe he is because of their own subjective experiences and the group polarization of the cult who confirm each other biases on a daily basis. It’s just another religion that gives people hope in a world torn apart by religion.

    #4321

    Strega
    Moderator

    Well said, Reg

    #4421

    Unseen
    Participant

    Seems like a strong motivation for prosecutors not to pursue rape cases. Get one conviction, dozens of people die.

    #4427

    Dang Martin
    Participant

    Maybe they found a few bucks on the ground when they needed it. /s

    Stories like this are scary, when considering the human mind can justify things in this manner. The idea of a living person being treated as a god is bizarre.

    #4428

    Unseen
    Participant

    If  you’re religious, your god IS alive. Who worships a dead god?

    #4430

    I think it is important that we remember all our dead gods.

    #4431

    Dang Martin
    Participant

    Odin DID promise and end to the Snow Giants, and I don’t see any Snow Giants. Dead gods are kind of uninspiring, even though they did not physically die, since they never physically existed, and it was their mythology that died by falling out of favor.

    I guess it’s a difference is not so much between living and dead, as it is between an ethereal being who is believed to “exist” on a Supernatural plane, and a physical being who is standing right there in front of us on our own Natural plane. The ethereal being — whether it’s Yahweh or another god — does not itself claim to be a god, with the exception of text [EDIT: And I feel certain that no gods wrote that text], because it does not exist, and I think it is acceptable to subscribe to this position until this god has the power to prove me wrong.

    In other words, gods like Yahweh do not stand before you and tell you that they are a god.

    But with a human being, it’s a different story. I know this being exists, based on the senses that I have available. What’s hard to believe is their claim.

    I have never been indoctrinated into religious belief, so that may be my handicap. Maybe digging deeper into the histories of the likes of Jim Jones and David Koresh will shed some light on it. Or maybe indoctrination is all that it takes.

    Maybe I’m somewhat willing to give a person a skeptical pass if they simply say that they believe that a god is watching over them. Yea, it makes them feel good, they were raised that way, whatever.

    But if they say that their neighbor, Fred Smith, is a god, then I cannot give that a pass at all, and my skepticism is increased dramatically. Maybe that’s because, while I cannot prove that Yahweh does or does not exist, I feel that I could prove Fred Smith wrong very easily; almost too easily.

    • This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by  Dang Martin.
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