Dera head Gurmeet Ram granted parole ahead of panchayat & bypolls in Haryana

CHANDIGARH: In a move peculiar to the Haryana government, Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been allowed 40-day parole ahead of the panchayat polls and Adampur assembly by-election due November 3.

As per law, a convict is entitled to be released from prison on parole after completing one year of his/her conviction period. Yet the timing of the parole for Gurmeet Ram Rahim raises questions. The disgraced sect head, who continues to wield influence in the rural hinterland of Punjab, parts of Haryana and Rajasthan, was granted a 21-day furlough on February 7, days ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls on February 20.

The Dera chief had been earlier granted parole thrice in 2021 and twice in 2022. In February this year, he was provided Z-plus security cover during his 21-day furlough, due to a “high-level threat to his life from pro-Khalistani elements.” He continues to enjoy Z-plus security cover whenever he is allowed temporary relief from prison life.

Then in June this year, he was out on 30-day parole. At the time, president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Harjinder Singh Dhami, had condemned the Haryana government for 
releasing him repeatedly.

Commenting on his latest parole, Dhami said the decision showed double standards of the government.
The sect head is serving 20-year life imprisonment in murder and rape cases and is lodged in a Rohtak jail. Sources said the Dera era chief’s family had submitted an application to the jail authorities seeking month-long parole for him.

He was last year also convicted along with four others for hatching a conspiracy to kill Ranjit Singh, a Dera manager, in 2002. The Dera chief and three others were convicted in 2019 for the murder of a journalist more than 16 years ago.

“This is dual policy, which brings the functioning of governments under question. Such tactics for political gains are not in the interest of the country. Governments should refrain from hurting Sikh sentiments,” said Dhami.