Dera chief & rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim set to walk out of jail on parole for 15th time in 4 years

Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is set to come out of jail on parole for the 15th time in the last four years.

The Election Commission of India approved Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s parole request on Monday.

Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal said the Haryana government may consider Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim 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 elections.

"As MCC is in place for the elections, that is why it (parole plea) came to us for our view... We wrote back to the state government, saying they may consider the parole subject to the correctness of facts as mentioned in the letter (plea),” he said. "Besides, other conditions in view of the polls should be satisfied (if parole is granted by govt)."

With the EC approval, the Haryana government is expected to issue his release order soon.

The Dera chief's impending release is scheduled ahead of the Haryana Assembly elections on October 5. He holds considerable sway in Haryana and Punjab.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim had sought a 20-day parole. He had sought to stay in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, during the parole period.

With the model code of conduct in place, his parole application was sent to the election department which has asked the jail departments to specify the "emergent and compelling" reasons behind the request that justify the release of convicts on parole during elections, said a report by news agency PTI citing sources.

The Dera chief’s previous furloughs and paroles had taken place alongside various elections, whether for municipal bodies or state assemblies.

In February 2022, he was granted three weeks' furlough ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls.

During the parole period, Gurmeet Ram Rahim will face restrictions, including a ban on entering Haryana and participation in any poll-related activities, in person or through social media. Gurmeet Ram Rahim, convicted in 2017, is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples.

In May, the high court acquitted him and four others in the 2002 murder of the sect's former manager Ranjit Singh, citing "tainted and sketchy" investigations in the matter.