The Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the murder case of his former manager Ranjit Singh, his lawyer said on Tuesday.

The Sirsa-headquartered sect chief, who is also serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples, is currently lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak.

A special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Panchkula had convicted Ram Rahim of the murder in October 2021.

Former Dera manager Ranjit Singh, who was also a follower of the sect, was shot dead in 2002.

He was murdered for his suspected role in the circulation of an anonymous letter, which narrated how women were being sexually exploited by the sect head at the Dera headquarters.

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