New Delhi:
Rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been granted a 20-day parole, according to the sources. The self-styled godman was secretly taken out of the jail early morning, at 5:26 am.
It is believed that Gurmeet Ram Rahim will stay at the Dera Ashram in Sirsa, Haryana, this time.
Reportedly, this is the 12th time Ram Rahim has come out of jail since 2017.
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was sentenced in 2017 in the case of raping two of his disciples. He is serving a 20-year sentence and is lodged in the Sunaria jail in Haryana’s Rohtak district.
In 2019, the Dera chief and three others were also convicted for the murder of a journalist Ram Chander Chhatarpati more than 16 years ago.
In May 2024, the high court acquitted him and four others – Avtar Singh, Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, and Sabdil Singh – in the 2002 murder of the sect’s former manager Ranjit Singh, citing “tainted and sketchy” investigations in the matter. A special CBI court had sentenced them to life imprisonment. The court also imposed fines on all five as Rs 31 lakh on Ram Rahim, Rs 1.50 lakh on Sabdil Singh, Rs 1.25 lakh each on Jasbir Singh and Krishan Lal, and Rs 75,000 on Avtar Singh.
Ranjit Singh was shot dead in the Khanpur Colony of Haryana’s Kurukshetra on July 10, 2002. Mr Singh’s murder was linked to his suspected role in the circulation of a letter exposing sexual exploitation allegations. The letter described how women followers were being abused.
Ram Rahim was last granted 20-day parole on October 2, 2024. Back then, he was barred from participating in election-related activities, making speeches and staying in the state during the period.