From correspondents in India, 03:00 PM IST

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here Saturday ordered that rape charges be framed against controversial Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh.

The special court judge has asked the Dera chief to be present in court during the next hearing Aug 23 for the charges to be framed.

The sect chief is facing charges of raping a "sadhvi" (religious follower) at his sprawling sect campus on the outskirts of Sirsa town in Haryana five years ago.

The CBI has been investigating the case for some time now and had been seeking the court's permission to frame charges.

The sect chief, who has been attending court hearings here in the last few months, was not present in the court Saturday when the judge ordered that the rape charges be framed against him.

The CBI is investigating two more charges against the sect chief for involvement in the murder conspiracy of a journalist and also a Dera follower and his former driver.

The arguments in the murder case are still on in the special CBI court here.

The sect chief, who enjoys Z-plus security cover from the Haryana police and also has his own private security around him at all times, has been involved in a controversy with the Sikh community after he attired himself like 10th Sikh guru, Gobind Singh, during a religious ceremony last year.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)