On 25 August 2017 a special CBI court in Panchkula, Haryana, convicted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of raping two women followers. Followers who had massed in the city then rioted in Panchkula and Sirsa. Between 36 and 41 people died, most in firing by security forces. The High Court said the Khattar government let Panchkula "burn for political benefits". By August 2025 no rioter had been convicted.
Key takeaways
- Reported deaths in the 2017 Dera verdict violence range from 36 to 41; the official count of people killed in police action was 32.
- Haryana's Section 144 order in Panchkula did not ban assembly, which the state called a "clerical mistake", and the High Court said Panchkula was allowed to burn "for political benefits".
- Honeypreet Insan was charged with sedition, but the charge was dropped in 2019; by 2025, 132 of 152 riot cases had ended in acquittal.
- Ram Rahim's 20-year rape sentence stands, his two murder convictions were overturned in 2024 and 2026, and he had 17 releases from jail by September 2026.
Background: the rape case
The case dates to 1999. Charges came in 2002, after anonymous letters written by two women followers alleging rape became public. The CBI took over in September 2002, filed its chargesheet in July 2007, and the trial began in August 2008 The Wire.
Sirsa journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, whose paper Poora Sach published an anonymous letter alleging sexual exploitation of women at the Dera, was shot in October 2002 and died that November ETV Bharat.
The build-up in Panchkula
On 24 August the High Court pulled up Haryana DGP B.S. Sandhu for allowing so many Dera supporters into the city despite prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC The Wire. At that hearing Advocate General B.R. Mahajan said messages telling followers to reach Panchkula had been intercepted The Tribune.
Panchkula DCP Ashok Kumar's Section 144 orders of 18 and 22 August banned weapons but not assembly of five or more people. The Advocate General called this a "clerical mistake"; an amended order came on 24 August. In the Tribune's words, "by then it was too late" The Tribune.
On 24 August a coordination committee of Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh suspended mobile internet for 72 hours and asked the Railways to halt passenger trains to Chandigarh The Wire/PTI. On 25 August Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain told the High Court that the Centre had sent 40 more paramilitary companies to Haryana and nine to Punjab. The court noted about 1.5 lakh followers in Panchkula The Wire.
Timeline
Convoy leaves Sirsa
The Dera chief set off for his first appearance in person at the Panchkula court The Tribune, in a convoy The Wire put at over 200 vehicles The Wire.
Guilty verdict
Special CBI judge Jagdeep Singh found him guilty of rape and criminal intimidation and fixed 28 August for sentencing. When the verdict became known, followers began stoning, vandalising offices and burning vehicles The Tribune.
Tear gas, then firing
Tear gas came first; firing began at about 3:50 pm as followers moved towards homes, and the violence lasted until about 5:15 pm The Tribune. Reporters were chased and TV vans burnt Outlook.
Curfew and Army
Curfew was imposed in Panchkula and six Army columns were deployed there, according to ANI. Army columns also moved into Sirsa, and curfew was clamped in Punjab's Muktsar, Bathinda and Mansa Outlook.
20-year sentence
In a makeshift court in Rohtak's Sunaria jail, the judge gave 10 years for each rape, to run consecutively The Quint.
Deaths, damage and the spread
Counts differ. The Wire reported 29 deaths on the night of 25 August, 28 of them in Panchkula and one in Sirsa The Wire. Scroll later reported at least 30 deaths in Panchkula and six in Sirsa Scroll, while an IANS report in 2021 gave 41 dead and over 260 injured IANS via DT Next. The Tribune in 2025 said 37 died in Panchkula and six in Sirsa The Tribune.
The Wire put the official count of people killed in police action at 32, all with gunshot wounds according to post-mortems The Wire.
Property worth Rs 10.48 crore was damaged in Panchkula. In Punjab, the Army was called in at Mansa, Malout and Kotkapura and curfew covered seven districts. In Delhi, two train coaches and six buses were set on fire The Tribune.
The High Court's criticism
On 26 August the High Court said:
You let Panchkula burn for political benefits.
Punjab and Haryana High Court, 26 August 2017, as reported by The Quint
It asked Additional Solicitor General Satya Pal Jain why Punjab and Haryana were being treated like "step children" The Quint. It said the government had "surrendered to the situation" and ordered damage claims to be invited Ummid.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said, "The fault was in allowing people to gather in Panchkula when the verdict was coming" ANI via Business Standard.
Both accounts
Dera and followers' account
The Dera chief and spokesperson Aditya Insan had appealed for calm before the verdict The Wire. In March 2018, eight followers told the High Court that about 200 followers had been killed in police action Claim · Dera followers' petition. Their petition said police had enough time to clear followers peacefully but stayed a silent spectator until "some anti-social elements incited violence" The Wire.
Honeypreet Insan called the allegations against her "baseless" and said she had been falsely implicated in the sedition case IANS via Business Standard.
Haryana government's position Government's position
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said evicting followers earlier could have caused the same violence two days sooner The Wire. He said the government had made complete arrangements but the mob was very large ANI via Business Standard, and blamed "anti-social elements who mingled with the dera followers" The Tribune. Later he said: "Those who ask for my resignation, can keep asking but I have done my job well." A senior official said "no innocent person was killed" and there was "no question of compensation" for the dead The Quint. The government suspended Panchkula's DCP The Tribune.
The NHRC closed its case on the firing in February 2021 because the matter was before the High Court, recommending no compensation or action against officers The Wire.
Honeypreet Insan and the sedition case
Police booked Honeypreet Insan, the Dera chief's adopted daughter, with Aditya Insan and Pawan Insan, for sedition, inciting violence and conspiring to help him escape. She was arrested on 3 October 2017 on the Zirakpur-Patiala road IANS via Business Standard. In February 2018 the SIT charged her and 21 others with sedition; its chargesheet said the plan to spread violence was made at the Dera headquarters by Honeypreet and a 45-member management committee Claim · Haryana Police SIT The Tribune.
On 2 November 2019 Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Sandhir dropped the sedition-related charges (IPC Sections 121 and 121-A) and framed charges of unlawful assembly and conspiracy IANS via Sentinel. She got bail on 6 November and left Ambala jail Scroll PTI via ThePrint. The Tribune reported in August 2025 that the conspiracy case against the Dera's top leadership was still pending The Tribune.
The riot trials: acquittals, no convictions
Police registered 177 cases; 25 were later cancelled or clubbed, leaving 152. By August 2025, followers had been acquitted in 132 and no one had been convicted. Courts found police had relied on custodial confessions, inadmissible under Sections 25 and 26 of the Evidence Act, and that no witness identified the accused The Tribune.
In 2025 alone, courts acquitted 41 followers in February and 66, 29, 19 and 126 (124 of them women) in four April verdicts The Tribune.
A senior police officer told the Tribune that "no case was found fit for filing an appeal". The Chief Minister's media secretary, Praveen Attrey, said, "Any decision on cases falls in the ambit of courts" The Tribune.
The murder cases
Ram Chander Chhatrapati. A special CBI court sentenced the Dera chief and three others to life on 17 January 2019 PTI via Onmanorama. On 7 March 2026 the High Court acquitted him but upheld co-accused convictions. The journalist's son Anshul Chhatrapati said the family would go to the Supreme Court ETV Bharat IANS.
Ranjit Singh. The former Dera manager was shot dead in 2002. A CBI court gave the Dera chief and four others life terms on 18 October 2021 IANS via DT Next. On 28 May 2024 the High Court acquitted all five, calling the probe "tainted and sketchy". On 3 January 2025 the Supreme Court issued notice on the CBI's appeal Outlook.
Paroles and furloughs
Since 2022 the Dera chief has been released under the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022 The Tribune. ETV Bharat noted many releases came near elections ETV Bharat.
On a petition from the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the High Court said in February 2024 that he could not get parole without its permission Scroll. On 9 August 2024 it said any application must be decided strictly under the 2022 Act. The Supreme Court on 28 February 2025 dismissed the SGPC's petition alleging misuse of the Act The Tribune.
Government's position In 2023 Khattar said he had no role in the paroles: "If he has got parole, then it must be after following all the procedures and that is his right. I will not interfere in that" The Wire.
In 2026 he was out for 40 days from January, 30 from May PTI via Business Standard and 21 from 25 August ETV Bharat. He returned to Sunaria jail on 16 September 2026; PTI counted that release as the 17th since 2017 PTI via ThePrint.
Outcome and where things stand
- Rape conviction: 20 years, from 28 August 2017. His appeal was pending in the High Court as of 2024 Business Today.
- Arrests: Over 1,000 followers held in Panchkula; pistols, rifles, rods and petrol bombs seized The Tribune.
- Other trial: He also faces trial in Panchkula over the alleged castration of followers The Tribune.
Questions people ask
How many people died in the Panchkula violence in 2017?
Reports range from 36 to 41 across Panchkula and Sirsa; 32 were officially counted as killed in police action. Followers claimed about 200.
Why did the High Court blame the Haryana government?
Followers gathered for days and the Section 144 order did not ban assembly. The court said the government let Panchkula "burn for political benefits".
What sentence did Ram Rahim get?
Twenty years: 10 years for each of two rapes, running consecutively, pronounced on 28 August 2017.
What happened to Honeypreet Insan?
She was arrested on 3 October 2017 and charged with sedition. The sedition charge was dropped on 2 November 2019 and she got bail on 6 November.
Was anyone convicted for the Panchkula riots?
No. By August 2025, 132 of 152 riot cases had ended in acquittal, and the Tribune reported no conviction.
Sources
- The Tribune: 8 years after death of 37 in Panchkula riots, no conviction yet, 25 Aug 2025
- The Wire: Violence erupts after Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh convicted of rape, 25 Aug 2017
- The Wire/PTI: Mobile, internet services suspended in 3 states ahead of verdict, 24 Aug 2017
- The Wire: Khattar defends response to Dera riots, 25 Aug 2017
- Outlook: Violence intensifies, 28 dead, 250 injured (live updates), 25 Aug 2017
- The Quint: You let Panchkula burn, HC tells Khattar govt, 26 Aug 2017
- Ummid: HC slams Haryana govt over Ram Rahim violence, 26 Aug 2017
- ANI via Business Standard: Punjab CM says Haryana counterpart should have prevented cause for violence, 26 Aug 2017
- The Quint: Gurmeet Ram Rahim jailed for 20 years on two counts of rape, 28 Aug 2017
- IANS via Business Standard: Honeypreet arrested, 3 Oct 2017
- The Tribune: Honeypreet, 21 others charged with sedition, Feb 2018
- IANS via Sentinel: Sedition charge against Honeypreet Insan, others dropped, Nov 2019
- Scroll: Honeypreet Insan gets bail in 2017 Dera violence case, 6 Nov 2019
- PTI via ThePrint: Honeypreet granted bail in 2017 Panchkula violence case, 6 Nov 2019
- PTI via Onmanorama: Dera chief gets life imprisonment for journalist's murder, 17 Jan 2019
- Scroll: Ram Rahim sentenced to life for journalist's murder, Jan 2019
- IANS via DT Next: Ram Rahim gets life sentence in manager murder case too, 18 Oct 2021
- The Wire: MHA reply on police firing silent on Panchkula killings, 31 Mar 2022
- The Wire: Haryana government faces allegations over Ram Rahim parole, 24 Jan 2023
- Scroll: No more paroles to Ram Rahim without permission, says HC, 29 Feb 2024
- Business Today: Ram Rahim, 4 others acquitted in Dera manager murder case, 28 May 2024
- Outlook: Supreme Court to review acquittal in 2002 murder case, 3 Jan 2025
- The Tribune: How dera chief gets furlough so often, Apr 2025
- ETV Bharat: HC acquits Ram Rahim in Sirsa journalist murder case, 7 Mar 2026
- IANS: Ram Rahim acquitted in scribe's murder case, 7 Mar 2026
- PTI via Business Standard: Ram Rahim gets 30-day parole, 26 May 2026
- ETV Bharat: Ram Rahim granted 21-day parole again, 25 Aug 2026
- PTI via ThePrint: Ram Rahim's 21-day furlough ends, returns to Sunaria jail, 16 Sept 2026