New Delhi: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who has been convicted in rape and murder cases, has once again walked out of jail on parole. According to officials, he was freed from the prison on Tuesday morning. This is the first time he will visit the Dera in Sirsa after being convicted in 2017. During the previous parole or furlough, he was only allowed to go to his ashram in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh.
The administration took Ram Rahim out of the jail secretly at 5:26 am on Tuesday. During his release, security was tightened. This time, Gurmeet Ram Rahim will reportedly stay in the Dera camp in Sirsa.
Earlier in October last year, Ram Rahim came out of jail after the Election Commission permitted his parole request. This is his fourth temporary release in the last 12 months and his total number of releases has gone up to 16 since he was convicted four years ago. Ram Rahim has a lot of influence in Haryana and Punjab. His previous furloughs and paroles have coincided with elections, be it municipal bodies or state assembly elections.
Ram Rahim came out of jail before Punjab, Haryana and Lok Sabha elections
On September 2, Ram Rahim returned to Sunaria jail after getting a 21-day leave on August 13 last year. On January 19, Ram Rahim got parole just before the Lok Sabha elections. Earlier, he was out of jail for 21 days during the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections. He came out of jail once again on June 17, 2022, just before the Haryana Municipal Corporation elections.
In 2017, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was convicted of raping two of his female followers and sentenced to 20 years in prison. However, he and four others were acquitted by the High Court in May for the 2002 murder of the sect’s former manager Ranjit Singh.
‘Don’t visit Sirsa, seek blessings from where you are’: Dera chief asks followers
After being released from jail, the Dera Sacha Sauda chief released a video, in which he said that he is visiting the Dera in Sirsa. However, he appealed the followers not to visit the Sirsa camp and seek blessings from where they are. He also prayed for the well-being of all.
