Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is currently serving 20 years in jail for raping two women (File)
Jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and three others have been named in a case relating to the theft of the holy book of the Sikhs Guru Granth Sahib, police said on Monday.
Ram Rahim Singh was named two days after the arrest of seven Sirsa dera followers by a Punjab Police special investigation team (SIT) probing the 2015 desecration of religious texts. They were arrested from Faridkot in the state.
Five of them have been remanded to two-day police custody while two have been let off when their counsels claimed to have already secured bail. Later, the two joined the investigation, said police.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Jalandhar Range) Ranbir Singh Khatra, who is leading the SIT, said the three others charged along with Ram Rahim Singh are the dera's national committee members.
Mr Khatra said the Dera Sacha Sauda chief has been named as a conspirator.
"We have applied before a Faridkot court for the arrest warrants of the three accused who are missing," Mr Khatra said.
"After the arrest of three accused, he (Dera chief) will also be questioned," the SIT head said.
The case pertaining to the theft of a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib from a Burj Jawahar Singh Wala gurdwara on June 1, 2015 was registered at the Bajakhana police station in Faridkot.
The dera chief, who is currently lodged at the Rohtak jail, is serving a 20-year-sentence for raping two women.
A special CBI court in Panchkula had also sentenced him and three others to life imprisonment for the murder of a journalist over 16 years ago.