Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, one of India’s many religious leaders, was recently accused of influencing as many as 400 men to have themselves castrated willingly. Allegedly, Singh told his followers that they should castrate themselves if they wish to meet with God directly.
Earlier this month, the Central Bureau of Investigation made a massive breakthrough in the case involving numerous castrations, after which they filed a charge sheet against Singh, accusing him of causing grievous bodily harm to others. Considering Singh has approximately 40 to 50 million followers across the world, some of his former devotees, who did allow themselves to get influenced by his bizarre proclamations, are skeptical about coming forward and speaking up against Singh. They fear being treated as outcasts by fellow community members if they question Singh’s authority. Hence, the CBI has been able to crack open only one person so far.
Hans Raj Singh, a former follower of Singh’s, said during his interview with the CBI that the mass castrations started taking place way back in 2000.
“They [the victims] were told that only those who get castrated will be able to meet God,” said Chauhan’s attorney, Navkiran Singh. “CBI sleuths met some old … followers and were, thus, successful in tracing some others who were castrated in the name of God. Some of the castrated followers, who agreed to record their statements before the judicial magistrate, have left for Delhi where the case has been registered.”
According to eyewitnesses, the mass castrations were conducted at a hospital in the Indian state of Rajasthan, where doctors were shocked to see so many men volunteering to have themselves castrated. Apart from being charged for engineering mass castrations, Singh is also being investigated for having sexually exploited his female devotees. Singh, popularly known as “guru in bling,” has an estimated personal fortune of over $50 million. His camaraderie with regional politicians and police officials has critics believing the charges would be dropped over the next couple of months.
Photo Credits: Punjab Timeline
