Self-styled godman and convicted rapist Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been granted a 40-day parole, just three months after a 21-day furlough. The Dera Sacha Sauda chief walked out of Haryana’s Sunaria Jail in Rohtak on Monday morning and left for the sect’s ashram in Sirsa, officials confirmed.
This marks Ram Rahim’s 14th release from jail since his conviction in 2017, when he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping two of his female followers. In 2019, he was also convicted in the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatarpati and later sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2002 killing of his manager, Ranjit Singh.
However, in a significant legal development, Ram Rahim and four others Avtar Singh, Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, and Sabdil Singh were acquitted in May 2024 in the manager’s murder case, after the court found the investigation to be “tainted and sketchy.”
Earlier this year, Ram Rahim was granted a 20-day parole in January, followed by a 21-day furlough in April.
His repeated releases have drawn criticism in the past, particularly because several of them have coincided with key elections in Punjab, Haryana, and neighbouring states. In 2022 alone, he was released thrice during the Punjab Assembly polls in February (21 days), Haryana civic elections in June (30 days), and Haryana bypolls in October (40 days). A similar 40-day parole was also granted in October 2020, around the time of the Haryana Assembly elections.
Despite these timings, authorities have consistently barred the controversial sect leader from participating in any political activity, addressing gatherings, or remaining within poll-bound areas during his release periods.
