New Delhi (CNN)A controversial Indian spiritual guru has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for rape, India's Central Bureau of Investigation announced Monday.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, head of the spiritual sect Dera Sacha Sauda, was convicted on
Friday of raping two of his followers in a case that dates back to 1999. The minimum sentence for rape is seven years.
He was sentenced to two consecutive 10-year terms, one for each conviction.
Singh was sentenced behind locked doors inside Rohtak jail, where he arrived by helicopter Friday from a courthouse in the northern city of Panchkula. The move came in a bid to prevent supporters gathering outside.
Security forces in northern Haryana state are set to remain on high alert after supporters were involved in deadly protests following his conviction.
At least 36 people were killed in Friday's violence and hundreds more injured, as supporters of Singh's rampaged through several northern states, setting fire to empty train carriages and burning cars.
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