Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

Profile Overview

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan (born 15 August 1967) is the head of the Indian social group Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) since 1990 and a convicted rapist.
The Indian Express had placed Ram Rahim 96th in their list of the 100 most powerful Indians of 2015. He has released several music albums and films, which typically revolve around himself and his teachings. Many of these are based on social issues and promotion of God's worship. Singh has also held about a hundred concerts called ‘Ruhani Ru-ba-Ru Nights’. In his films, he is usually credited for various other roles, in one instance being credited in more than forty departments. His films were negatively received by critics, with many considering them propaganda and criticising their poor quality, although the production house claimed that several of them had grossed ₹1 billion.
On 25 August 2017, Ram Rahim was convicted of rape by a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court. His conviction led to widespread violence by members of the DSS and simultaneous clashes with the police, which left several dead and injured. On 28 August 2017, Ram Rahim was sentenced to 20 years in prison. In January 2019, he and three others were convicted of the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and sentenced to life imprisonment. On 7 March 2026, Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted Gurmeet Ram Rahim in the 2002 Ram Chander Chhatrapati murder case while reversing the order of the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court more than seven years after he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. The court also observed that the CBI had coerced a witness, Khatta Singh, into making a statement against him. In October 2021, a special CBI court in Panchkula found Singh and four others guilty of the murder of Ranjit Singh, a former Dera manager. On 28 May 2024 Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted Gurmeet Ram Rahim and four others in the 2002 Ranjit Singh murder case. The Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed an appeal filed by Dera Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim and four others against a CBI court order of 2021. He is also facing prosecution for ordering forced castration of 400 followers so that they could get "closer to god".
The name MSG is thought to be derived either from the initials of the three DSS heads, Shah Mastana, Shah Satnam, and Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, or as an abbreviation for "Messenger of God".