Self-styled godman Ram Rahim now gets parole of 30 days

Less than five months after getting a 40-day parole, self-styled jailed godman and Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was on Thursday granted regular parole of 30 days by the BJP-led Haryana government.

Ram Rahim headed to his dera at Barwana in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district -- the place where he had spent his previous parole in January this year.

Currently serving a life term for the murder of his manager in 2002, he was also convicted for the rape of two women in 2017 and is lodged in Haryana’s Sunaria jail since 2017.

The 'godman', who has a large number of followers in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, was earlier released from the jail five times for various reasons, including his plea to meet the ailing mother.

Justifying the decision, an official said Ram Rahim has been granted parole as per the jail manual. According to officials, the dera chief was provided Z-plus security cover during his parole owing to the “high threat perception” to his life from “pro-Khalistan” groups.

Ram Rahim was sentenced to 20 years in jail in August 2017 for raping two women.

A special CBI court in Panchkula in January 2019 also sentenced Ram Rahim and three others to life imprisonment for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati over 16 years ago. His conviction on August 25, 2017, had led to violence in Panchkula and Sirsa, leaving 41 people dead and over 260 injured. Ram Rahim was patronised by political leaders and parties in Punjab and Haryana for nearly two decades due to his ability to influence the votes of his followers.