Ahead of Haryana elections, controversial Dera Sacha Sauda chief rejects 20-day parole

Chandigarh, Oct 2 (IANS): Just three days before the Haryana Assembly elections, the state government on Wednesday released controversial Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on parole for 20 days, the 11th time since his conviction in August 2017 for raping two of his students.

He was released from the maximum security Sunaria prison in Rohtak, 250 km from the state capital Chandigarh, and immediately went to his ashram in Bagpath in Uttar Pradesh.

During the probation period, he will not be allowed to enter Haryana or take part in any election campaign activities.

While the BJP government in the state had already cleared the parole application, the main opposition Congress on Tuesday rejected a complaint to the Election Commission of India and the state’s Chief Electoral Officer questioning the timing of the parole and said that his release could influence voters.

Ram Rahim had returned to Sunaria Jail on September 2 after being granted a 21-day leave on August 13. His parole on January 19 came ahead of the general election.

Caretaker Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini approved his parole application and forwarded it to the prison department, which forwarded it to the Rohtak divisional commissioner.

Because of his ability to influence the votes of his followers, Ram Rahim was supported by political leaders and parties in Punjab and Haryana for almost two decades.

He had applied for parole citing the death anniversary of his father Maghar Singh on October 5, which is observed as Parmarthi Diwas, as the reason for granting parole.

The Election Commission on Monday approved the parole application subject to three conditions: he is not allowed to enter Haryana during this period, he is not allowed to indulge in any political activity and he is not allowed to engage in election-related activities even through social media.

After the Election Commission allowed the state government to “consider” Ram Rahim’s request, the state home ministry forwarded the permission to caretaker chief minister Saini for approval.

Anshul Chhatrapati, son of murdered journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, for whose murder Ram Rahim is serving a life sentence, refused to grant parole and said in a communication to the Election Commission on six occasions, out of ten paroles and leaves: Ram Rahim was about to be granted parole released after an election.

“For the first time, he was given 21 days leave in February 2022 ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections. He then received a 30-day suspended sentence in June 2022 ahead of the Haryana municipal elections. Thereafter, in October 2022, he was again given 40 days probation ahead of the Adampur Assembly by-election in Haryana. He was given 30 days probation in July 2023 before the Haryana panchayat elections. Then he was given 29 days probation in November 2023 ahead of the Rajasthan assembly elections,” Anshul had said.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had rejected Ram Rahim’s parole application for attending the wedding ceremony of his foster daughters.

The self-proclaimed godman was sentenced to 20 years in prison in August 2017 for raping two women.

A special CBI court in Panchkula also sentenced him and three others to life imprisonment in 2019 for the murder of a journalist over 16 years ago.

His conviction on August 25, 2017 led to violence in Panchkula and Sirsa, leaving 41 people dead and over 260 injured.