50-year-old Harinder Pal Singh Verma is the CBI's lawyer who has spent the last 12 years fighting the rape and murder cases against Dera Sacha Sauda head, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insaan.
Mr Verma, the special public prosecutor for India's premier investigation agency, the CBI, mounted the prosecution's case against the powerful godman in multiple cases of rape and murder.
The Special CBI court last week sentenced Ram Rahim and three others to life imprisonment for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati in 2002.
Journalist Ram Chander Chhatra Pati was murdered after he published the anonymous letter by a woman follower of the Dera accused Ram Rahim of sexual exploitation.
For the disgraced sect chief, the life sentence will commence after he has served 20 years' prison sentence awarded last year for the rape of two women disciples.
But it wasn't easy to bring to justice the powerful godman who is politically influential and enjoyed considerable money and muscle power at his disposal.
Mr Verma says many witnesses against Gurmeet Ram Rahim felt threatened and it took a lot of work to prepare them to depose before the court.
"Everyone knows how powerful the accused was. While they got their statements recorded during the investigation, the witnesses would skip the court hearings and some didn't turn up at all," he said. "It's not that they didn't want to depose, they were just scared for their safety."
Mr Verma says he and the CBI investigators managed to get all their witnesses to the court, albeit it took them nearly 17 years to get justice in these cases.
It's not uncommon for cases to stretch in Indian courts for decades, hence the legal maxim 'Justice delayed is justice denied' is often repeated in the context of Indian judicial system. But Mr Verma says this instance is not fit for this common refrain.
"We have proved it wrong. If it took sixteen years for this case to be wrapped up, the aggrieved family has finally received justice and they are satisfied."
However, the job is only half done for Mr Verma until the special court delivers the verdict in another case against the Dera head - for the alleged murder of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh.
Ranjit Singh was the brother of one of the female devotees of the Dera who complained of sexual harassment. The CBI alleges that the Dera head ordered Ranjit Singh's murder as he suspected the former manager of the sect headquarters who had severed links to it was behind the circulation of an anonymous letter that accused Ram Rahim of raping women in the data.
"Our witnesses have identified the accused and we have strong testimonies. When the final arguments begin in the court next month, it will be just another month and a half before the court delivers a verdict in that case," Mr Verma told SBS Punjabi.
Mr Verma faced several threats during the course of the over decade-long court proceedings. Once men loyal to Gurmeet Ram Rahim rammed a vehicle in his car while returning from a court hearing. But the self-effacing lawyer from Patiala makes light of it.
"Those were minor incidents. I ignored them and just carried on with my job and we have the result in front of us."
