It was more than 10 years after their rapes that the two survivors finally recorded their statements before the judges in 2009 and 2010. These first-hand accounts of the sufferings of the two sadhvis eventually sealed the fate of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, leading to his conviction on Friday.

In their depositions on oath before CBI judges, the sadhvis had given the sequences of events, narrating horrifying tales of how the "powerful Baba" used to rape them and other women of the dera inside his 'gufa' (a customised underground chamber that was his personal residence).