CultNEWS101 Articles: 3/26/2025 (Legal, Canada, Dera Sacha Sauda, Twin Flames)

Legal, Canada,  Dera Sacha Sauda, Twin Flames

City News: B.C. court voids 'cult' marriage, finding woman didn't 'truly consent'

"A British Columbia judge has annulled the marriage of a woman to a fellow member of an India-based "cult group," saying she didn't "truly consent" to the 2023 wedding.

The B.C. Supreme Court ruling issued this week says [named removed] claimed she was manipulated and overwhelmed by a "barrage" of overtures from Napinder Singh Jaura and his family that began in October 2022.

The ruling by Justice Ian Caldwell says the woman was an 18-year-old permanent resident in Canada when she was first contacted by the man, who lived in New Zealand and was around 32.

The ruling says she did not wish to marry but the man and his family "persisted," bringing a "sacred food gift" to her workplace and claiming the union was "blessed" by a priest of the Dera Sacha Sauda religious group.

The man's sister warned that refusing the marriage would invite "the wrath" of the religious community.

Caldwell's ruling found the marriage "voidable," saying the man "pursued, harassed, and perhaps even stalked" the teenager who was under duress when the wedding occurred in Abbotsford, B.C.

The ruling says the woman had finally agreed to marry on April 25, 2023, and was picked up from work the next day by Singh Jaura's relative. 

She was driven to a home where a Punjabi wedding suit was waiting for her, and the ceremony happened that day without her family present.

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Two secret tunnels detected at sect chief quarters in Dera

India Today
PTI
September 9, 2017

Sirsa (Har), Sep 9 (PTI) Two secret tunnels, including one that connected the Dera Sacha Sauda chiefs residence with the hostel for female disciples, and an illegal firecracker factory were today unearthed on the second day of the massive sanitisation exercise at the sect headquarters here.

An empty box of AK 47 cartridges, 84 cartons of fire crackers and chemicals from the illegal factory, besides hundreds of pairs of shoes, designer clothing and caps, were also found, and official said.

"A window-shaped secret tunnel that connected Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singhs private residence ? also known as gufa or terawas? to the sadhvis? (female disciples) hostel was found during the search," according to state Information and Public Relations Department Deputy Director, Satish Mehra, who has been authorised by the administration to speak to the media.

The other fibre glass tunnel detected by the security forces opened some five kilometre away from the Dera heads private residence, he added.

The search was launched on the premises of the dera in the wake of conviction of sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in two rape cases last month and the subsequent violence by his supporters which left 38 people dead. He has been jailed for 20 years.

The illegal fire cracker factory has been sealed and a case under the Explosives Act had been registered against the factory owner, Mehra said.

He said some chemical material to be used in making fire crackers was also found. "The search teams recovered 84 cartons of fire crackers from the illegal factory," he said.

The search will continue tomorrow also, he said. The Dera?s sprawling headquarters include a township of its own, with schools, a sports village, a hospital, a shopping mall and a cinema hall. The property is also home to an ostentatious 7-star MSG resort with replicas of Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, Kremlin and Disney World inside.

Hordes of police, paramilitary and civil administration personnel were involved in the mammoth search operation which started yesterday on the direction of Punjab and Haryana High Court.

An unregistered luxury car and some banned currency notes were yesterday seized from the dera during the sanitisation exercise which also involved forensic examination of his so-called cave where he allegedly used to sexually exploit women.

Besides, some rooms were also sealed and hard disk drives and unlabelled medicines recovered during the 12-hour day long exercise.

The entire sanitisation process is being videographed and overseen by retired District and Sessions Judge, A K S Pawar, who was appointed as Court Commissioner by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday.

Curfew remains in force on the road leading inside the dera headquarters. No unauthorised person was being allowed to go inside the dera premises. However, life remained normal in Sirsa city.

A large number of vehicles including those of police, paramilitary, Quick Reaction Teams, bomb disposal squad and anti-sabotage team, carrying made their way inside the dera premises this morning, officials said.

Vehicles of the district administration carrying officials drawn from various government departments also enetered the dera premises.

Besides, some fire tenders, heavy earth moving machines and tractors have also been pressed into service for the sanitisation exercise.

A number of dera followers, who had parted ways with the sect head, hade reportedly told the media earlier that except for the dera chief and his close aides, nobody was allowed to enter his gufa or private residence.

The dera, spread over nearly 800 acres, has been divided into ten zones for the purpose of sanitisation and searches, with each zone under the control of a senior officer.

The dera chief, who featured in a few films directed and co-produced by himself, also has some shops in the complex where consumer products launched two years ago under "MSG" brand were sold. PTI VSD IKA RT RT

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/two-secret-tunnels-detected-at-sect-chief-quarters-in-dera/1/1044513.html

Akal Takht withdraws pardon to Sacha Sauda sect chief

IANS
Amritsar 
October 16, 2015

The Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion, on Friday withdrew its pardon granted last month to Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Akal Takht Jathedar (chief) Gurbachan Singh announced here that the earlier "hukamnana" (edict), issued on September 24, has been withdrawn by the five Sikh high priests.

The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the Sikh clergy held here on Friday. The consent of the Takht Hazoor Sahib (Nanded-Maharashtra) was taken telephonically as he could not attend the meeting here.

The pardon granted to the sect chief led to resentment within the Sikh community, especially among radical Sikh leaders.

The Dera head found himself in the midst of a major controversy in May 2007 when he was accused of hurting the Sikhs' religious sentiments.

Sikh organisations then accused Gurmeet Ram Rahim of wearing an attire in an advertisement which resembled the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.

The controversy led to violent clashes between Sikhs and sect followers, particularly in south-west Punjab.

The Sikh clergy last month granted pardon to Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh following a written apology from him.

But the clergy drew flak for their pardon and were accused of bowing to the diktats of the Akali Dal leadership, particularly Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who timed the pardon to the sect chief well before the March 2017 Punjab assembly polls.

The sect chief wields substantial influence among his millions of followers in Punjab and Haryana.

In a written apology, the sect chief told the Akal Takht that he had no intention to show disrespect to the Sikh Gurus or hurt the religious sentiments of the Sikh community.

The apology and the pardon were seen as an end to a bitter chapter, lasting well over eight years, of strained relations between the Sikh clergy and the Sikh community on one side and the sect chief and his followers on the other.

The sect chief was booked by Punjab Police under various criminal sections.

He resides in his sprawling campus near Sirsa town in Haryana, 275 km from state capital Chandigarh.

Following the clashes, the sect chief had initially offered to hold talks with Sikh leaders but he was asked to first apologise for his actions.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/akal-takht-withdraws-pardon-to-sacha-sauda-sect-chief-115101600884_1.html

Sect chief should apologise in person at Akal Takht: Radical Sikh groups

October 2, 2015

IANS

Daijiworld
Radical Sikh leaders on Friday termed "a sham" controversial Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's offer to visit the Golden Temple complex and demanded that he should instead appear before the Akal Takht, Sikh religion's highest temporal seat, to offer his apology.

"Gurmeet Ram Rahim stating that he was willing to visit Golden Temple for peace holds no water as anyone can visit it to pay obeisance irrespective of religion, caste and creed. He must come at Akal Takht in person and tender apology in clear words for his blasphemous act and pledge not to repeat the same in future," Dal Khalsa leaders H.S. Dhami and Kanwarpal Singh said in a statement.

They said that the pardon drama enacted by the Akal Takht and the subsequent setting up of a committee to review the decision to pardon the sect chief was a diversionary tactic to defuse anger among Sikhs.

"What's the utility of constituting the committee after issuing a clean chit to the head of heretical cult for his sacrilegious act?" they asked.

Leaders of these organisations accused the Sikh clergy of bowing to the diktats of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal to pardon the sect chief.

A controversy has erupted after the Akal Takht last Thursday said it had pardoned the sect chief after he submitted a written "apology".

The Dera head courted controversy in May 2007 when he was accused of hurting the religious sentiments of the Sikhs by wearing, in an advertisement, an attire resembling that of the 10th Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh.

The controversy led to violent clashes between Sikhs and the sect followers, particularly in southwest Punjab.

The Akali Dal leadership, including the Badals, and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Avtar Singh Makkar have said the Akal Takht's decision on the sect chief's pardon issue was final and the Sikh community should accept it.

The timing of the pardon is being linked to the state assembly elections in early 2017 and the interest of the Akali Dal leadership to build a rapport with the sect chief since he has lakhs of followers in Punjab.

The sect chief has submitted a written apology to the Akal Takht, stating that he had no intention of showing disrespect to the Sikh Gurus or hurt the religious sentiments of the Sikh community.

The apology and the pardon brought to an end a bitter controversy, which lasted for over eight years, and led to strained relations between the Sikh clergy and community on one side and the sect chief and his followers on the other.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who has millions of followers in Punjab and Haryana, resides in his sprawling campus near Sirsa town in Haryana, 275 km from Chandigarh.

Following the clashes, the sect chief had initially offered to hold talks with Sikh leaders but he was asked to first apologise for his actions.

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=359487

Sect followers end protests after assurance on 'MSG-2' screening

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

September 21, 2015
ZeeNews

Chandigarh: Hundreds of protestors from the Dera Sacha Sauda sect who had blocked railway tracks and roads in some parts of Punjab in the past two days, ended their protests on Monday after authorities assured them that a solution would be found regarding the screening of "Messenger of God-2" (MSG-2), the second movie starring their chief, godman Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh.

The assurance to the protestors was given by district authorities following talks between both sides on Monday.

The sect followers, including scores of women, had blocked railway tracks and roads in the last two days at some places in south Punjab to oppose the "unofficial ban" on the film's screening in Punjab, putting people to inconvenience.

Protestors had blocked rail tracks and roads in Moga, Sangrur, Ludhiana, Ferozepur, Amritsar and Jalandhar districts despite inclement weather and rain.

Authorities in Bathinda and other districts assured sect supporters that a solution for the screening of the controversial film would be found this week.

The sect, which has its headquarters near Sirsa town in neighbouring Haryana, has lakhs of followers across Punjab.

The followers claimed that "MSG 2" film was not being screened in theatres and multiplexes in Punjab despite no official ban by the state government.

They said cinema owners were not screening the movie citing law and order issues.

Cinema owners are worried that members of the Sikh community would oppose the film's screening. The sect has a history of run-ins with the Sikh community.

The film, a sequel to "Messenger of God" movie, was released on nearly 2,000 screens across the country on Friday.

http://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/movies/sect-followers-end-protests-after-assurance-on-msg-2-screening_1800201.html

Indian 'guru in bling' allegedly encouraged the castration of 400 followers

January 9, 2015The Sydney Morning Herald

Indian police said they are investigating a popular self-styled godman for allegedly encouraging 400 followers to undergo castrations at his ashram so they could get closer to god.

The country's top crime fighting agency has registered a case against Gurmeet Ram Rahim, known as the "guru in bling" for his penchant for garish clothes and jewellery, over the operations in the country's north.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said Rahim is being investigated for criminal intimidation and causing grievous bodily hurt, after 400 castrations were allegedly carried out.

The guru, who heads the Dera Sacha Sauda organisation based in Haryana state, is already facing trial for conspiracy over the murder of a journalist in 2002 along with claims of sexually exploiting female followers.

The latest case was filed after one of his devotees, Hans Raj Chauhan, lodged a complaint in court alleging he was manipulated into having the "painful" operation at the ashram.

"They were told that only those who get castrated will be able to meet god," Chauhan's lawyer, Navkiran Singh, said on Thursday.

"We will put all the facts of the case to the court and seek compensation for the victims."

He said doctors carried out the castrations over a period from 2000, but for years his client had been too scared to come forward.

The court asked the CBI to undergo an investigation into the alleged castrations.
Forty-seven-year-old Rahim could not immediately be contacted for comment.
The Dera Sacha Sauda says it is a social welfare and spiritual organisation with millions of followers in India and abroad.

On its website, the group describes Rahim as a saint as well as an author, inventor, scientist, philosopher, philanthropist, peace activist and "the ultimate humanitarian".

Rahim also stars in an action movie to be released later this month called MSG: Messenger of God in which the guru fights criminals, sings songs and is shown dousing himself in water in slow motion after a rugby game.

India has been rocked by numerous scandals involving popular godmen who are mostly Hindu ascetics claiming to possess mystical powers.

In November, police arrested Baba Rampal Maharaj after a long and violent siege at his ashram in Haryana when he refused to comply with court orders in a murder case.

In a bizarre case, devotees of a dead guru are fighting a court battle in Punjab state to preserve his body in a freezer, insisting he is only meditating.

For many Indians, gurus play an integral role in daily life. They say they offer a pathway to enlightenment in return for spiritual devotion and often give donations to ashrams, temples and charity projects.
AFP

http://www.smh.com.au/world/indian-guru-in-bling-allegedly-encouraged-the-castration-of-400-followers-20150108-12kmul.html