Rape Convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Granted 40-Day Parole, Will Remain Out of Jail for 91 Days in 2024

Rohtak: Controversial Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, convicted of rape and murder, was on Tuesday granted a 40-day parole by the Haryana Government, marking his third release from prison in 2024. The 57-year-old convict walked out of Sunaria jail in Rohtak, and will return on September 14, as per official sources.

Ram Rahim will spend his parole period at the Dera’s Sirsa headquarters, confirmed officials citing PTI. This marks a cumulative 91 days out of jail for the Dera chief between January 1 and September 14 this year alone, raising fresh questions about the frequency of parole being extended to a high-profile convict.

This is the second time in three months that he has been temporarily released. Earlier, in April, the state government had granted him a 21-day furlough, while in January, he was released for 30 days, notably just ahead of the February 5 Delhi Assembly elections. In October last year, he was also allowed 20-day parole, just before the October 5 Haryana Assembly polls.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim was convicted in 2017 for the rape of two women followers, a case that drew national outrage and violent protests from his supporters. In 2019, he and three others were convicted for the 2002 murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, who had exposed the sexual exploitation allegations within the Dera.

In yet another major case, Ram Rahim was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2021 by a special CBI court for hatching a conspiracy to kill former Dera manager Ranjit Singh. However, in a controversial twist, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in May 2023 acquitted him and four others in that case, citing “tainted and sketchy” investigations.