Panchkula: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been convicted in journalist Ram Chander Chhattrapati’s murder case by a special CBI court in Panchkula on Friday.

Apart from Ram Rahim, three others have been convicted in the case by the court.

The sentence to be pronounced on January 17.

Ram Rahim, who is currently serving a 20-year prison term in Rohtak's Sunaria jail for raping two of his women followers, appeared through video conferencing for the hearing.

He was named as the main conspirator in the case which dated back to 2002.

Chhatrapati was shot at in October 2002 after his newspaper, 'Poora Sach', published an anonymous letter narrating how women were being sexually exploited by the Dera chief at his headquarters in Sirsa.

The journalist later succumbed to injuries and a case was registered in 2003. The case was handed over to the CBI in 2006.