Chandigarh: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim was released by the Haryana Government on a 21-day furlough (parole) on Wednesday morning. Rahim is a convict in rape and murder cases.
In January this year also, the Dera Sacha Sauda chief had been granted a 30-day parole by the Haryana Government, just before the Delhi Assembly Elections in February. He is currently lodged in Rohtak's Sunaria Jail
Since January 20 last year, Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been released for a total of 142 days by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Haryana, reported The Times of India.
Notably, it is reportedly the 13th furlough/parole given to the Dera Sacha Sauda chief since October 24, 2020.
In February this year, the Supreme Court refused to hear a plea of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) against the temporary release of Gurmeet Ram Rahim. The plea was filed challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court order.
The bench of Justices B R Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra noted Singh's counsel objection to the maintainability of the PIL before the high court, which it disposed of, on the ground that it was filed against a single person, who was Singh.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim was sentenced to a 20-year imprisonment for raping two of his disciples.
The Sirsa-headquartered Dera Sacha Sauda has a number of followers in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and other states. In Haryana, the Dera has a sizable number of followers in many districts including Sirsa, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra, Kaithal and Hisar.
