Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim granted 21-day furlough
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the head of Dera Sacha Sauda and a convicted rapist, has been granted a 21-day furlough. The temporary release will allow him to visit the Dera ashram in Barnawa, Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat district. This development comes after the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently dismissed a plea by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) against Singh's temporary release.
HC's stance
On August 9, the high court stated that a plea for temporary release by Singh should be considered by the competent authority without any "arbitrariness or favoritism." Earlier in June, Singh had approached the high court seeking directions for a 21-day furlough. This follows a directive issued by the high court on February 29 instructing the Haryana government not to grant further parole to Singh without its permission.
Singh's previous parole
Singh had previously been granted a 50-day parole on January 19. He is currently serving a 20-year sentence in Sunaria jail in Haryana's Rohtak district for raping two of his disciples. The sentence was handed down in 2017. In addition to his rape conviction, Singh and three others were found guilty in 2019 for the murder of a journalist over 16 years ago.
HC acquits Singh in 2002 murder case
However, in May this year, the high court acquitted Singh and four others in the 2002 murder case of the sect's former manager Ranjit Singh. The court cited "tainted and sketchy" investigations as grounds for acquittal. Singh had been sentenced to life imprisonment by a special CBI court for his involvement in this nearly two-decade-old murder case. He was found guilty of hatching a criminal conspiracy with his co-accused.
