Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is serving a 20-year jail sentence for raping two of his women followers, has once again been granted a 40-day parole, sources said on Sunday. He is currently lodged in Sunaria jail in Haryana’s Rohtak district.
This is the latest in a series of paroles and furloughs granted to the self-styled godman since his conviction in 2017. Singh was earlier given a 40-day parole in August last year. He is also serving a sentence after being convicted in 2019, along with three others, for the murder of a journalist more than 16 years ago.
In the past year alone, Ram Rahim has received multiple temporary releases. He was granted a 30-day parole in January ahead of the February 5 Delhi assembly elections and a 21-day furlough in April. In October 2024, he was allowed a 20-day parole just days before the Haryana assembly elections held on October 5. Earlier, in August 2024, he was granted a 21-day furlough.
Records show that before this latest parole, Singh had walked out of prison at least 14 times since his conviction in 2017. In February 2022, he was also given a three-week furlough shortly before the Punjab assembly elections, a move that had drawn strong criticism at the time.
Sikh organisations, including the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, have repeatedly objected to the frequent paroles and furloughs granted to Ram Rahim, questioning the timing and intent behind such decisions.
On several previous occasions when he was released, Singh stayed at the Dera Sacha Sauda ashram in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district. The Sirsa-based Dera has a large number of followers across Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and other states, with a significant presence in districts such as Sirsa, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra, Kaithal and Hisar.
