Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Walks Out Of Haryana Jail On 50-Day Parole

Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh walks out of Sunaria jail in Haryana’s Rohtak after being granted a 50-day parole.

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, currently serving a 20-year jail term for raping two disciples, walks out of Sunaria jail in Haryana’s Rohtak after being sanctioned a 50-day parole on Friday. Notably, this parole follows his release from Sunaria jail in Haryana's Rohtak district on November 21 last year, where he had been granted a 21-day furlough – marking his third temporary release in 2023.

During this parole period, Singh is slated to visit the Dera Sacha Sauda Ashram in Barnawa, located in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat, as per the PTI report.

His Parole A Standard Jail Manual: Haryana Minister

Following the development, Haryana Cabinet Minister Chaudhary Ranjit Singh Chautala said that parole followed "standard jail manual procedures". He stated that all prisoners, including Ram Rahim, are entitled to 70 days' parole and 30 days of furlough, with parole being optional for the prisoners.

While talking to the media at his residence in Sirsa, Chaudhary Ranjit Singh Chautala said, "According to the rules of the jail manual, any prisoner is given parole for 70 days and leave for 30 days. Furlough is given only once. Parole can be taken twice. It is the choice of the prisoner. There are 23 to 24,000 prisoners in the jails of Haryana and there are the same rules for all. A prisoner who has been sentenced to 7 years can apply through the District Magistrate," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

In the previous year alone, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, ostensibly confined to Sunaria Jail, was granted parole three times, totaling 91 days. His releases included a 21-day parole in November, 30 days in July, and 40 days in January – all granted to commemorate the birth anniversary of former Dera chief Shah Satnam.

According to an NDTV report, photographs from a previous release showed Singh "celebrating" by cutting a birthday cake with a sword, stating, "Got a chance after five years to celebrate like this... so I should cut at least five cakes. This is the first cake!"

Singh's parole releases have been a recurring event, with his last release in January 2023 drawing controversy. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar insisted that obtaining parole, if due procedures are followed, was his "right". Click here to read the full report here. 

It is to be noted that Singh is also a convict in the murder case of a journalist over 16 years ago, and he, along with four others, was convicted in 2021 for conspiring to kill Dera manager Ranjit Singh. The public display of weapons, including cutting a cake with a sword, is prohibited under the Arms Act.