Indian guru jailed 10 years for rape amid intense security

Rohtak : An Indian court on Monday sentenced a controversial spiritual leader to 10 years in prison for raping two of his devotees, days after his followers went on a rampage that left 38 dead.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, 50, had been convicted on Friday of raping the two women at the sprawling headquarters of his hugely popular Dera Sacha Sauda sect in the northern state of Haryana, in a case dating back more than 15 years.

"Ram Rahim has been sentenced to 10 years in jail," defence lawyer Utsav Singh Bains told AFP after the sentence was pronounced at a makeshift court at Rohtak in Haryana.

Utsav Singh Bains, lawyer for the victims, said he would seek a longer sentence and asked India's federal investigations bureau to investigate dozens more alleged cases of abuse. 

"We will file two appeals shortly. One for enhancement of the punishment and another for further investigation into the case," Bains told AFP by phone.

"We believe there are at least 48 more victims who were sexually abused and who may have been killed or are too scared to come out and testify against Ram Rahim."

Authorities have clamped intense security on the city of Rohtak where Singh is being held due to fears of a repeat of Friday's violence, when tens of thousands of his supporters set fire to cars and clashed with security forces.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the violence but his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which is also in power in Haryana, was criticised for failing to anticipate the riots.

Police were taking no chances in Rohtak, where mobile internet has been cut, roads barricaded with barbed wire and soldiers deployed to man checkpoints.