Before Haryana polls, Dera Sacha Sauda chief out on 20-day parole, 11th in 4 years

On the eve of the Haryana assembly polls, yet again, the influential Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who has also been convicted for the murder of a journalist, walked out of the Sunaria jail in Rohtak on Wednesday (October 2) on a 20-day parole.

During his temporary release period, Singh will stay at the Dera ashram in Barnawa in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat.

The controversial sect chief was released under tight security on Wednesday (October 2) morning after his release on parole, an official said. The Haryana government has granted a 20-day parole to Singh but he has been barred him from taking part in election-related activities, making speeches and staying in the state during the period.

Singh is serving a 20-year sentence given in 2017 for raping two of his disciples. The Dera chief and three others were also convicted in 2019 for the murder of a journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati more than 16 years ago. He has been handed a life sentence in murder case.

11th parole in four years, 235 days out of jail

Interestingly, this will be Singh's 11th parole in the past four years. Just two months back, in August this year, Singh was out on furlough for 21 days. That was the 10th instance in four years when the Dera chief was granted parole or furlough since his first conviction in 2017, and the sixth ahead of an election in Haryana, Punjab, or Rajasthan, where he has a sizable following.

Taking his paroles and furloughs into account, the Dera chief, who is a convict, has spent 235 days outside jail.

The Haryana government had also granted Ram Rahim a 50-day parole on January 19 this year, coincidentally, three days ahead of the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ (consecration) of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Immediately upon his release, he issued a video statement asking his followers to celebrate “Ram ji’s festival” like Diwali.

In 2023, he also walked out of jail in November 21 after he was granted a 21-day furlough. In 2023 alone, he was released three times on parole.

Anshul Chhatrapati, the son of the murdered journalist alleged that the BJP government in Haryana brought in the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022 solely to make it easier for Dera chief to walk out of jail because he wasn’t eligible under earlier parole laws.

According to the Act, a convicted prisoner is eligible for up to 10 weeks (70 days) of parole per calendar year, which can be taken in two separate periods. Additionally, a prisoner may be granted furlough for up to three weeks (21 days) in a calendar year, but this time must be taken in one continuous period, said a report in The Print quoting the jails minister Ranjit Singh Chautala.

The Haryana Good Conduct Prisoner (Temporary Release) Act, 1988 provides for the temporary release prisoners for good conduct under certain conditions, such as illness or death of a family member, illness of the prisoner, marriage of a close family member, birth of a child, agricultural operations, house repairs, dependent’s admission to an educational institute, etc.

Also read: Gurmeet Ram Rahim's repeat paroles, and their links with elections

Polls and parole

But, notably, Singh's release always seems to coincide with elections being held in the region. In 2022 too, he was released from jail — twice on parole and once on furlough. For example, he was given furlough in February 2022 when the high-stakes Punjab Assembly elections was around the corner.

He was also granted a 30-day parole on June 17 the same year, two days before the crucial elections to 46 municipalities in Haryana on June 19. An assembly bypoll in Adampur in Haryana in November 2022, coincided with his release in October.

The power of the Dera Sacha Sauda

The Dera Sacha Sauda chief is an influential sect, which holds significant sway in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and neighbouring states. The sect has millions of followers across India and a big chunk come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, many of them Dalits. Philanthropic work has also bolstered its influence among the poor.

Under Singh's leadership, the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda maintained ties with political parties across the spectrum offering support to both the Congress and the BJP at various times. In the 2007 Punjab elections, the influential sect openly backed the Congress. However, Singh supported the BJP in the 2014 assembly polls in Haryana, and the party went on to form a majority government in the state for the first time.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too has praised the work done by the Dera but has not mentioned Ram Rahim, who was facing a criminal case at that time.

Its philanthropic works in the fields of education, healthcare, and disaster relief has helped it bolster its influence and support among communities.

Also read: Haryana polls: Ex-jailer, who gave parole to Ram Rahim 6 times, in BJP’s candidates’ list

Haryana polls

What needs to be noted this time in the upcoming Haryana assembly polls, the BJP’s first list of candidates included Sunil Sangwan, a former superintendent of Rohtak’s Sunaria Jail, who during his tenure had granted Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim parole six times.

The saffron party, which released its first list last month, fielded Sunil from the Charkhi Dadri seat. Sunil had retired from service and joined the BJP ahead of the Haryana polls.

No election activity

As the countdown to the voting in the October 5 Haryana polls begins, the Dera chief sought parole and according to the parole conditions, the sect chief will not take part in any election-related activity or deliver public speeches and will stay out of Haryana during the period.

He will stay at Dera ashram in Uttar Pradesh's Barnawa (Baghpat) during the period.

The jail department had recently forwarded the Dera chief's parole plea to the office of the Haryana Chief Electoral Officer in view of the Model Code being in place for the assembly polls.

Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal had said on Monday that the Haryana government may consider Singh's parole subject to the correctness of facts mentioned in his parole plea and satisfying other conditions with respect to the Model Code of Conduct for the elections.

Haryana goes to polls on October 5 and the results will be declared on October 8.

The Opposition parties have criticised the grant of relief to Singh.

In May, the high court acquitted Singh and four others in the 2002 murder of the sect's former manager Ranjit Singh, citing "tainted and sketchy" investigations in the matter. A special CBI court had sentenced them to life imprisonment in the nearly 20-year-old murder case.

Singh had been held guilty of hatching a criminal conspiracy with his co-accused.

(With inputs from agencies)