Who is Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insaan: All You Need To Know

Punjab and Haryana High court had come down heavily on the Haryana government for its apparent inability to maintain law and order in the state ahead of the CBI court verdict. Photo: AFP

The sentence was passed by Jagdeep Singh, a special CBI judge, in a makeshift court in the Sunaria jail where Ram Rahim, 50, had been lodged since his conviction on Friday.

MSG is perhaps a reference to his first film "Messenger of God", which he made In 2014 when he underwent an image makeover. Since then, he has made three more films, playing the lead role in each and performing ostentatious, dangerous stunts, quite like any other tinsel town superhero.

In 2002, Gurmeet's tryst with controversy and criminal charges began. He has since been named in cases dealing with rape, murder and forced castration. In 2002, a case of sexual exploitation case was registered against him. This followed anonymous letters alleging that the sect head had sexually exploited two 'sadhvis'.

The CBI filed the chargesheet against the Dera head in Ambala court in July 2007 about five years after the registration of the rape case. The chargesheet mentions sexual exploitation of two 'Sadhvis' (women followers) between 1999 and 2001.

He glides through the air dressed in pink robes in his promotional videos and in real life is known to ride powerful, souped up bikes to congregations, the persona as flashy as the vehicle itself.

Combining entrepreneurial skills with his job as the spiritual head of the sect, he launched his 'MSG' range of "swadeshi and organic" products about two years ago. The business is looked after by the Dera chief's children, who live inside the Dera in Sirsa, about 260 km from here.

Nobody can meet the Dera chief, who has been provided Z- category security in addition to his own private guards, without prior appointment. It is common to find politicians from across the spectrum flocking to the Dera premises. However, no politician comes on record and Gurmeet himself maintains that as sect head he does not indulge in any political activity. He leaves it to the sect's political wing to decide on whom to support. (Photo: AP)

Many trains bound for Punjab and Haryana were cancelled for the next four days, schools and colleges shut and thousands of security personnel deployed to ensure that no trouble breaks out after the special CBI court delivers its judgement. AP Photo

Thousands of "premis", as Dera followers are referred to, gather from various parts to hear the message delivered by the "Pita ji" (Dera head). The sprawling Sirsa Dera, spread over nearly 1,000 acres, is a township on its own, with schools, sports village, hospital and cinema hall etc.

For his followers, who gathered in the thousands in Panchkula ahead of a verdict in the case of rape and criminal intimidation, their leader is all this and more. The bejewelled head of the Sirsa headquartered sect, who turned 50 this Independence Day, holds sway over millions in Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. (Photo: PTI)

Gurmeet Ram Rahim, head of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect who has two state governments on the edge as he awaits a verdict on a rape case tomorrow, is not the regular godman in saffron but a curious amalgam of reel and real defying easy description.

His Twitter profile describes him as "Spiritual Saint/Philanthropist/Versatile Singer/Allrounder Sportsperson/Film Director/Actor/Art Director/Music Director/ Writer/Lyricist/Autobiographer/DOP".

It was the familiar blurring of lines between the larger than life image of the man of bling who would be god and superstar. For somebody who commands so much attention, the personal details are just a few.

As curiosity grew about the man at the centre of the growing storm, the "rock star baba" put out a tweet appealing for peace and saying he would go to court even though he had a backache.

The Dera chief, who completed his high school, is married to Harjeet Kaur. They have two daughters, Charanpreet and Amanpreet, both of whom are married, and a son Jasmeet. He also adopted a girl. The story also goes that he loved butter and ghee and took part in several sport activities.

He was born in Sri Gurusar Modia village in Rajasthan's Sri Ganganagar district on August 15, 1967, to a landlord father. An only child, Gurmeet helped his father in the farm in his early years.