Rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim gets 21-day furlough; 13th temporary release since 2020

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who is serving time for rape and murder, was granted a 21-day furlough by the Haryana government on Wednesday morning.

Earlier this year, in January, he was also given a 30-day parole just before the Delhi Assembly elections held in February. Rahim is currently imprisoned in Rohtak’s Sunaria Jail.

According to The Times of India, since January 20 last year, the BJP-led Haryana government has allowed Gurmeet Ram Rahim temporary release for a total of 142 days.

This is reportedly the 13th time since October 24, 2020, that he has been granted parole or furlough.

In February, the Supreme Court refused to entertain a plea filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) challenging his temporary release. The plea opposed a Punjab and Haryana High Court order allowing the furlough.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra took note of the objection raised by Singh’s lawyer regarding the maintainability of the PIL, stating it was aimed at an individual – Gurmeet Ram Rahim – and dismissed it on those grounds.

The Dera Sacha Sauda, which is based in Sirsa, has a large number of followers in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and other states. In Haryana alone, the Dera has strong support in districts like Sirsa, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, and Hisar.