With Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh sentenced to 20 years imprisonment, speculations are rife over his successor.
Sources said the though the DSS chief’s family, including his ailing mother and wife want his son Jasmeet to take over as the Dera head, the names of the self-proclaimed Godman’s adopted daughter and the current DSS chairperson Vipassana Insan are also doing the rounds.
Though as of now there is no urgent need to name a successor and filing an appeal in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the CBI court verdict remains top priority, 20-year imprisonment for the 50-year-old has sparked speculations over who wouldsucceed him.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who likes to be called the ‘Messenger of God’ (MSG), took over as the third head of the organisation in 1990, after the dera founder Mastana Maharaj and Shah Satnam Singh.
As none of his two predecessors named a family member as their successor, the DSS will break this tradition if the Dera chief’s son Jasmeet, is named his successor.
Jasmeet , who is in his thirties, is married to the daughter of former Punjab Congress legislator Harminder Singh Jassi.
The most close-aide of the Dera chief, Honeypreet Insan is a contender to head the DSS. One of the adopted daughters of the Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Honeypreet’s closeness to the Dera chief can be gauged from the fact that she she accompanied him to the Special CBI court in Panchkula for the pronouncement of verdict in the 15-year-old rape case on Friday.
She describes herself as “papa’s angel, philanthropist, director, editor and actress” on social media and has acted in movies along with Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
Another name doing the rounds is Vipassana Insan who is the chairperson of the DSS and holds the top position in the Dera management.
While most of the Dera officials have been silent post the violence in Panchkula and Sirsa, Vipassana was the one who issued an appeal in video message, asking followers to maintain peace and calm.
While most of the Dera officials have been silent post the violence in Panchkula and Sirsa, Vipassana was the one who issued an appeal in video message, asking followers to maintain peace and calm.
She, however, maintains that there was no move to appoint a new Dera sect head as followers have complete faith in Guruji. Vipassana said for the time being, all educational institutions and factories of the Dera have been shut down.