The Haryana government has approved a 50-day parole extension for Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the imprisoned chief of Dera Sacha Sauda. He is currently lodged in Sunaria prison in Rohtak district. Currently serving sentences in two rape cases and facing life imprisonment in two distinct murder cases, this latest parole approval constitutes his seventh temporary release within a span of 24 months.
He was granted 21-day parole in November last year.
Parole involves the temporary release of a prisoner, either for a specific purpose or until the completion of their sentence. The granting of parole is contingent upon the assurance of good behavior from the inmate. When a prisoner is temporarily released from jail on furlough, it signifies a brief respite from their incarceration.
Before getting a 21-day parole in on November 20, 2023, parole was granted to Gurmeet Ram Rahim on July 20 last year for 30 days. The rape and murder convict was out on parole on his birthday on August 15 and reportedly stayed at his UP Ashram in Barwana, Baghpat.
This is the seventh in the last 24 months and fifth time in a year that Ram Rahim has been granted parole. Earlier, he was released on parole for 40 days in October 2022 ahead of the Haryana panchayat election and the Adampur Assembly bypoll. He had first got parole in October 24, 2020 and this is the eighth time in 38 months or three years that he has been granted parole.
Outrage over another parole
Another parole to Ram Rahim sparked outrage on social media, with many prominent personalities expressing anguish over the development.
Former DCW chief and now a Rajya Sabha member, Swati Maliwal, took to X to voice her anger. "Once again Gurmeet Ram Rahim was given parole for 50 days. Is the Haryana government secretly protecting him? Is the government ready to push the daughters of the entire country into wells just to collect a few votes? At a time when the entire country is preparing for the consecration of Maryada Purushottam Prabhu Shri Ram, who fought for the dignity of women, this rapist-murderer is being set free. I will raise this issue in Parliament…" Maliwal said.
Congress leader Netta D'Souza also slammed the Haryana government's decision. "Gurmeet Ram Rahim granted parole again. How long will the BJP, which gives the slogan of save the daughter, continue to protect rapists for the sake of votes? BJP's soft attitude towards criminals from Ram Rahim to Brij Bhushan and from Asaram to Bilkis Bano shows that women's safety and respect is just a slogan for BJP and Modi ji. Will the women of India get justice like this under Modi rule?" she questioned.
Another user wrote, "Gurmeet Ram Rahim gets another parole for 21 days. Not new, not surprising but this is his 9th furlough in about 3 years! Looks like jail time is just a quick detour in his routine, downright farcical."
Paroles to Ram Rahim
- For the first time on October 24, 2020, the government granted him one day parole to meet his mother who was ill.
- Granted parole for 1 day on 21 May 2021 to meet ailing mother for the second time.
- On 7 February 2022, the Haryana government granted him parole for 21 days.
- On June 2022, Ram Rahim was again given parole for one month.
- On October 2022, Ram Rahim was once again released on parole for 40 days.
- Ram Rahim was granted parole for 40 days on 21 January 2023 to attend Dera chief Shah Satnam's birth anniversary.
- Ram Rahim was granted parole for 30-days on July 2023
- He was granted parole for 21-days in November 2023
- Now, he's been granted 50-day parole in January 2024
Days out of jail
in 2017, Gurmeet Ram Rahim received a 20-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting two female followers.
However, starting from his first parole in October 2023, Gurmeet Ram Rahim has spent 184 days out on parole in the last three years. Including the 50-day parole granted to him Friday, the controversial and rape-convict godman would spent 234 days out on parole in the last three years.
For someone having convicted for charges as heinous as rape and murder, its is baffling that Gurmeet Ram Rahim continues to get paroles one after another.
Khattar had backed parole to Ram Rahim
After a controversy arose regarding the 40-day parole granted to Ram Rahim in January last year, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had said that the Dera Sacha Sauda chief had the right to parole when following all proper procedures.
"I was not aware that Ram Rahim has got parole. But if he has, then it must be after following all the procedures and that is his right. I will not interfere in that," Khattar had said.
Within that parole duration, Ram Rahim was observed "celebrating" by cutting a cake with a sword. In a video that emerged online in January, he expressed, "Got a chance after five years to celebrate like this, so I should cut at least five cakes. This is the first cake."
