Even murder, rape, and castration convictions can’t bring this spiritual guru down. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, founder of one of India’s larger cults ‘Dera Sacha Sauda’, rides expensive motorbikes, stars in his own movies, and rocks out at concerts wearing bizarre costumes. Today, the “guru of bling” AKA “baba” is serving a life sentence that hundreds of thousands of people are adamantly protesting against. In 2002, anonymous allegations of sexually exploiting girls began but no one was willing to speak up. Some did, like journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, who was then murdered. Since then, Ram Rahim has been charged for raping women?, prosecuted for enforcing castration of 400 followers, and sentenced to prison for murder. Following his conviction, there were violent protests, widespread vandalism, and dozens of Dera members killed in clashes with police. According to Rahim, he is a messenger of God and has led over 60 million people on the path of God-realization. His group has 46 divisions across India and the world, and millions of devotees. He holds political influence and before going to jail, senior leaders from political parties would visit the guru to seek his support. ‘Dera Sacha Sauda’ may have good intentions and deeds behind it, but none can compensate for the years of abuse and exploitation of power Ram Rahim has caused.
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