Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was released from a jail in Haryana’s Rohtak on Tuesday after being granted a 30-day parole, a development which came ahead of the February 5 Delhi assembly polls.
The 57-year-old Singh traveled to his Sirsa-headquartered Dera in Haryana after being released from the Sunaria jail in Rohtak, sources told PTI.
This marks the first time Singh has visited the Dera in Sirsa since his 2017 conviction in the rape case. Previously, he had stayed at the Dera ashram in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, during his parole.
As reported by PTI, one of the Dera chief’s counsel said he has been granted 30-day parole. Singh is expected to stay at Sirsa for ten days and at the Bhagpat ashram for the remaining days.
On 30-day parole to self-styled godman & Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Haryana Minister Anil Vij said, “Parole is granted as per the laws. It is not granted to anyone just like that.”
After reaching the Dera in Sirsa, Singh sent a video message to his followers asking them not to visit.
A police official from Sirsa also confirmed that Singh had reached the Dera there.
Singh is serving a 20-year sentence given in 2017 for raping two of his disciples. His parole comes days ahead of the polls in Delhi.
Also Read: SC issues notice to Gurmeet Ram Rahim on CBI plea challenging Punjab HC order in murder case
Last time, Singh was granted a 20-day parole on October 1 last year. That had also come ahead of the October 5 Haryana assembly polls.
In the past, some of Singh’s paroles and furloughs have coincided with elections in Punjab, Haryana, and neighboring states.
Sikh organizations, such as the SGPC, have previously criticized the relief granted to Singh.
In August last year, Singh was granted a 21-day furlough. He had also been given a three-week furlough starting February 7, 2022, just two weeks before the Punjab assembly elections.
In May, the high court here acquitted Singh and four others in the 2002 murder of the sect’s former manager Ranjit Singh, citing “tainted and sketchy” investigations in the matter.
Also Read: Dera chief & rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim set to walk out of jail on parole for 15th time in 4 years
A special CBI court had sentenced them to life imprisonment in the nearly 20-year-old murder case. Singh had been held guilty of hatching a criminal conspiracy with his co-accused.
The Sirsa-headquartered Dera Sacha Sauda has a significant number of followers in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and other states.
In Haryana, the Dera has a strong presence in districts such as Sirsa, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, and Hisar.
The Dera Sacha Sauda chief, along with four others, was convicted for conspiring to kill Ranjit Singh, a Dera manager. In 2019, Ram Rahim and three others were also convicted for the murder of a journalist that occurred more than 16 years ago.
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