Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh filed an appeal in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday against his conviction by a Central Bureau of Investigation court in August in a rape case, ANI reported.

On August 28, the CBI court in Panchkula had sentenced the religious leader to 20 years in prison for raping two of his followers in 2002. It had convicted him on August 25.

Singh’s counsel Vishal Garg Narwana said they had challenged the CBI court’s verdict on several grounds. “One of them was that there was a delay of more than six years in recording the statements of the complainants,” Garg was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. He also alleged that the CBI had concealed some parts of the women’s statements.

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Meanwhile, in two separate cases of murder, the special CBI court on Monday dismissed the application of Khatta Singh, the Dera chief’s former driver and a witness, to record a fresh statement. The CBI has accused Ram Rahim of ordering the murder of a journalist and a manager of his controversial sect for trying to expose him and the Dera’s activities.

The court is hearing the final arguments in the murder cases now.

On September 18, seven applications were filed at the CBI court, seeking further investigation and a stay on the ongoing trials in the two murder cases.

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Khatta Singh had recorded his first statement in 2007, but retracted it in 2012 because he feared his life was in danger. His lawyer said he had decided to appear before the court and give his statement as the circumstances have changed. “I was scared that they would kill me and my son, we were threatened,” Khatta Singh had said.

The CBI had filed a chargesheet against Ram Rahim in the rape case in 2007. In 2002, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered a case to be registered against him after anonymous letters were circulated, claiming that he had raped at least two of his female followers.