Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh granted one-month parole, leaves Rohtak jail

Jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been granted a month-long parole, a senior official said on Friday.

Singh has been lodged in Rohtak's Sunaria jail after his 2017 conviction in rape cases.

"He has been granted one-month parole and he came out of the prison on Friday," a senior police official from Rohtak jail told PTI.

Earlier in February, the Dera chief was granted three week's furlough.

The sect chief is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two women disciples at his ashram in Sirsa, where the Dera is headquartered. He was convicted by a special CBI court in Panchkula in August 2017. On 8 October, 2021, the court also convicted Rahim and four others in connection with former Dera manager Ranjit Singh's murder case. Ranjit Singh was murdered in 2002 on the premises of Dera Sacha Sauda.

Sources said the Dera chief was likely to go to Dera Sacha Sauda Ashram, Barnawa in Uttar Pradesh's Bhagpat.

Parole means the release of a prisoner either temporarily for a special purpose or completely before the expiry of a sentence, on the promise of good behaviour, while a furlough is a short-term temporary release of convicts from jail.

Meanwhile the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee took to Twitter to oppose the decision.

It said, the SGPC strongly objects to parole to Gurmeet Ram Rahim. SGPC President Harjinder Singh strongly objected to the one month parole to Dera Sirsa head Gurmeet Ram Rahim by Haryana government and said this decision shows double standards of the government.

Singh said on one hand, governments are not bringing Bandi Singhs (Sikh political prisoners) out of the jails despite they have completed their sentences, while on the other, Dera Sirsa head, who is a convict in heinous crimes like rapes and murders, is being brought out from the jail time and again.

He said on 500th Parkash Purb (birth anniversary) of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the Centre government had announced to release the Bandi Singhs but due to malice of the government, the same has not been implemented. “Despite the fact Sikh bodies are repeatedly raising this issue, governments are not giving any meaningful revert. However, governments are kind to Dera Sirsa head, who is also directly associated in the beadi (sacrilege) cases of Sri Guru Granth Sahib at Bargari in 2015 and a murderer of religious sentiments of Sikhs.

"Sadly, the BJP government in Haryana and Centre are playing a political game together", said Singh.

He added that the "BJP government at the Centre had already given furlough to Ram Rahim during elections for purpose of political gain and has again granted parole to him to take advantage in the Sangrur election. The SGPC president said Sikh sentiments will never tolerate patronage being given to Ram Rahim by governments and it will be strongly opposed."

With input from agencies

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