Dera chief Ram Rahim walks out of jail on 30-day parole

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, serving a 20-year jail term for raping two women disciples, walked out of Sunaria jail in Haryana’s Rohtak on Tuesday after being granted a 30-day parole — his 16th release from prison since his 2017 conviction.

The controversial self-styled godman left the jail premises early in the morning amid tight security arrangements and will stay at the Sirsa headquarters of the Dera Sacha Sauda during the parole period, according to Dera spokesperson and advocate Jitender Khurana.

The latest parole comes just months after Ram Rahim was granted temporary release in January this year. Over the past two years, the Dera chief has repeatedly secured paroles and furloughs, often around election periods.

He was granted a 40-day parole in August 2025, a 21-day furlough in April 2025 and another 30-day parole in January 2025 ahead of the Delhi assembly elections held on 5 February.

Earlier, he was released on a 20-day parole on 1 October 2024, days before the Haryana assembly elections, and on a 21-day furlough in August 2024. In February 2022, he was granted a three-week furlough shortly before the Punjab assembly polls.

The repeated paroles granted to Ram Rahim have triggered criticism from Sikh organisations and opposition groups, with bodies such as the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) questioning the timing and frequency of his temporary releases.

Ram Rahim was convicted in 2017 by a special CBI court in Panchkula for raping two women followers and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

However, in recent years, he has secured major legal relief in other criminal cases.

In March this year, the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted Ram Rahim in the 2002 murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, seven years after a special CBI court had sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Earlier, in May 2024, the high court also overturned another special CBI court verdict and acquitted Ram Rahim and four others in the 2002 murder case of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh.

The Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda continues to wield significant influence across Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and neighbouring states, with a strong support base in districts such as Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Kaithal and Kurukshetra.

With PTI inputs