Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh walked out of Haryana’s Sunaria jail in Rohtak on Tuesday after being granted a 21-day furlough. This is his 17th temporary release since he was convicted in a rape case in 2017.
Ram Rahim left the high-security prison at around 6 am and is expected to stay at the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa during the furlough.
The latest release comes less than two months after he returned to jail on June 26 following a 30-day parole.
Third consecutive stay at Sirsa headquarters
This is reportedly the third consecutive temporary release during which Ram Rahim has been allowed to stay at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa. On earlier occasions, he was sent to the organisation’s ashram in Barnawa, Uttar Pradesh.
With the latest 21-day furlough, Ram Rahim has exhausted his annual entitlement of 10 weeks of parole and three weeks of furlough under the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners Temporary Release Act, 2022.
Unlike parole, which is generally granted for an urgent or specific need, furlough can be granted to eligible prisoners after they have served the required period of imprisonment.
Convicted in rape and murder cases
Ram Rahim was convicted by a special CBI court in August 2017 for raping two women disciples at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with 10 years for each rape conviction to be served consecutively.
His conviction triggered widespread violence in parts of Haryana and Punjab in August 2017.
He was later convicted in the murder case of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh and sentenced to life imprisonment along with other accused. However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted him in that case in May 2024.
Ram Rahim was also convicted in the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.
Repeated releases draw scrutiny
The Dera chief’s repeated parole and furloughs have frequently attracted public and political criticism because of the seriousness of the offences for which he was convicted and his large following in Haryana and Punjab.
In February 2024, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed that Ram Rahim could not be granted further parole without its permission. Later, the court clarified that applications for temporary release should be considered by the competent authorities under the 2022 law without “favouritism or arbitrariness”.
Earlier this year, Ram Rahim was released on 40-day parole in January and 30-day parole in May, before returning to Sunaria jail on June 26.
