Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the head of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, was released on parole from Rohtak's Sunaria Jail on Tuesday morning. He is serving a 20-year sentence for raping two of his disciples and has also been convicted for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.
According to official sources, Ram Rahim has been granted a 30-day parole. He will spend the first 10 days at his Sirsa ashram and the remaining 20 days at the Barnawa ashram in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district.
For the first time since his arrest, Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been allowed to visit his Sirsa ashram during his parole. This is the 11th instance of him being granted furlough or parole since a special CBI court sentenced him in August 2017.
This time, Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s release was kept secret, with even local police learning about it only after he left the jail around 6:45 am on Tuesday.
The timing of his parole has raised speculation, with some linking it to the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, as the Dera has a large following in the capital. Several leaders from the ruling party have been visiting the Dera ashrams recently.
Why Gurmeet Ram Rahim was jailed
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the head of Dera Sacha Sauda, was sentenced in 2017 for raping two of his disciples and is serving a 20-year sentence in Sunaria Jail, Haryana. In 2019, he and three others were convicted for the 2002 murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.
In May 2024, the High Court acquitted Ram Rahim and four others in the 2002 murder of Ranjit Singh, the Dera's former manager, citing poor investigations. A special CBI court had previously sentenced them to life imprisonment and imposed fines, with Ram Rahim facing a fine of Rs 31 lakh.
Ranjit Singh was killed in Kurukshetra,Haryana, in 2002, after a letter exposing sexual exploitation allegations against the Dera was circulated.
Ram Rahim was last granted a 20-day parole on October 2, 2024, but was barred from engaging in election-related activities, giving speeches, or staying in the state during that period.