Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh gets 15th parole in 4 yrs; barred from entering Haryana

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who was convicted for rape, is set to walk out of jail. This would be his third temporary release in the past nine months and the 15th in four years. During the time of his parole, he will not be allowed to enter Haryana, or take part in any election campaign activities. 

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s parole comes ahead of yet another election after the Election Commission approved his parole petition on Monday. It comes days ahead of the October 5 Haryana Assembly elections. Ram Rahim’s furloughs and paroles have consistently coincided with municipal or state elections. 

The Dera Sacha Sauda chief, however, has been prohibited from participating in any election related activity either in person or via social media. He had sought a 20-day parole ahead of the Haryana elections. 

Ram Rahim, who had returned to Sunaria jail on September 2 after a 21-day furlough granted on August 13, has been granted temporary release 14 times. His parole has totalled 259 days. His January 19 parole came ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. 

Ram Rahim’s parole application was sent to the election department since the model code of conduct is in place in Haryana. The department asked the jails department to specify the ‘emergent and compelling’ reasons behind the request that justify the release of convicts on parole during polls. 

Since he will not be allowed to enter Haryana, Ram Rahim has sought to stay at the Dera ashram in Barnawa in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat during the parole period. 

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, sentenced in 2017, is serving a 20-year sentence for raping two of his disciples. He was sentenced to life imprisonment along with four others in connection with a 20-year-old murder case of the sect’s former manager, Ranjit Singh. He was held guilty of hatching a criminal conspiracy with his co-accused. In May, the high court acquitted them, citing  ‘tainted and sketchy’ investigations in the matter.