Rape convict Ram Rahim seeks 20 days of parole, research body asks for valid reasons

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is serving a 20-year prison term for raping two of his disciples at his ashram in Sirsa, has applied for 20-day interim parole just ahead of the October 5 Haryana Assembly elections.

According to sources, the Haryana government has forwarded his parole application to the state election officer for consideration.

However, the officer demanded urgent and important reasons for the dismissal.

The 56-year-old self-proclaimed godfather returned to Rohtak Jail in Sunaria on September 2 after being released under Art. 21-day sabbatical on August 13.

Ram Rahim, who has a significant following in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, has been granted furlough leave eight times for various reasons, including to visit his sick mother.

Under state law, furlough means the short-term release of an inmate after serving a specified portion of their sentence.

Recently, the issue of multiple paroles and leaves granted to the Dera chief was challenged before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The court, while dismissing the petition filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Commission (SGPC), observed that the competent authority should consider it without “arbitrary or favoritism”.

Rahim was convicted in 2017 for raping two of his students and is currently lodged in Sunaria Jail in Haryana’s Rohtak district.

Haryana is scheduled to go to polls on October 5 and the results for both Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir will be declared on October 8.