CHANDIGARH: Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape-murder convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was released on a 30-day parole Tuesday morning from Sunaria Jail in Rohtak. This marks the eleventh time he has been granted parole. However, it is the first time since his conviction and arrest in 2017 that he has been permitted to visit his Dera in Sirsa during the parole period. Interestingly, his release coincides with the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, scheduled to be held on 5 February.
Sources revealed that Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was released around 5:30 am on Tuesday from Sunaria Jail in Rohtak, and his close aide Honeypreet was present to receive him. From the jail, the Dera chief drove straight to his Dera in Sirsa, arriving there around 7:30 am. He has been granted a 30-day parole and is expected to spend ten days at his Dera in Sirsa and the remaining twenty days at the Barnawa Dera Ashram in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh.
In previous paroles, he had always stayed at the Barnawa Ashram in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, and was never permitted to visit the Sirsa Dera.
The Dera head is serving a 20-year sentence for the rape of two of his disciples. He was also convicted for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati.
The Sirsa-headquartered Dera Sacha Sauda has a significant number of followers in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and other states. In Haryana, the Dera has a large following in many districts, including Sirsa, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, and Hisar.