Ram Rahim will continue to be Dera Sacha Sauda chief, says chairperson Vipassana Insaan

NEW DELHI: The imprisonment of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has led to speculation on who will succeed him as the Dera Sacha Sauda chief. The names of his son Jasmeet, adopted daughter Honeypreet and Dera chairperson Vipassana Insan were doing the rounds. Now the question that haunted the Dera followers ever since the controversial godman was arrested and sent to jail has been put to rest by Vipassana Insan, the chairperson of the Dera Sacha Sauda. Vipassana, who holds the top position in the Dera management, said rape convict Ram Rahim will continue to head the sect from inside the prison. "There were several rumors doing the rounds about who will succeed guru ji as Dera chief. There was no move to announce a successor for Baba ji. It's all from hearsay," she said. "No one will ever replace Guru ji as Dera head. He will continue to lead the sect," Vipassana told ABP News. When asked about assets of the Dera worth over billions of rupees, Vipassana said that properties and business inside the Dera belong to the followers. "Dera has around 6 crore followers. They came here and established their business as Dera offered land to people on lease and rent," she said. When questioned on an alleged illicit relationship between Ram Rahim and Honeypreet, Vipassana said the duo shares a pious father-daughter relationship. "It's not just me but all five crore followers of Dera are witness to a father-daughter relationship between Bana and Honeypreet. People who are alleging otherwise are defaming a pious relationship," she said. Asked to respond on the lookout notice against Honeypreet, the Dera chairperson said she should cooperate in the investigations On lavish lifestyle of Ram Rahim and his infamous 'Gufa', she said Dera as an 'open book' and people are making baseless allegations against the sect and activities in its Sirsa headquarters. "There's nothing hidden inside the Dera. We have also requested the district administration to search our premises in (Sirsa) at any time. We will cooperate with them in this exercise," she said. Vipassana, who heads the Dera management which takes care of several activities like farming, social welfare, factories, educational institutions etc., reiterated that Dera works for social welfare of people.