Dera chief Ram Rahim again granted 40-day parole, set to walk out of Sunaria jail today

The Dera chief’s last 40-day parole had ended on November 25 last year. He had gone to his Barnawa ashram in Uttar Pradesh after his release on October 14.

Earlier, Haryana Jails Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala, while commenting on the Dera chief’s fresh parole plea, had said the latter had filed an application seeking a 40-day parole which had been forwarded to the Rohtak divisional commissioner.

During his parole period, Ram Rahim is also likely to attend the birth anniversary event of former Dera chief Shah Satnam Singh on January 25.
During his previous parole period in October-November, the 55-year-old Sirsa Dera chief held several online ‘satsangs’ at the Barnawa ashram in UP. Some of these were also attended by BJP leaders from Haryana.

Prior to his October parole, the sect chief had come out of prison on a month-long parole in June.

He was also granted three weeks furlough from February 7, 2022, barely two weeks before the Punjab Assembly elections.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex religious body of the Sikhs, had earlier raised an objection after Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was granted a 40-day parole last year.

SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami had alleged that while special kindness was being shown to Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Sikh prisoners lodged in jails for about three decades were not being released even after completing their sentences.

The Dera chief in 2021, along with four others, was also convicted for hatching a conspiracy to kill Ranjit Singh, a Dera manager.

The Dera chief and three others were convicted in 2019 for the murder of a journalist over 16 years ago.