Singh, who is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples, was given a 40-day parole on Sunday.
As Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh walked out of the Sunaria jail in Rohtak on Monday after he was granted a 40-day parole, his 15th release from the jail since 2020, the victim’s kin and the Opposition slammed the government over the move.
Singh, who is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples, was given a 40-day parole on Sunday to celebrate the birth anniversary of Shah Satnam Ji Maharaj, second chief of Dera Sacha Sauda on January 25.
So far, he has spent 366 days out of jail during his period of incarceration.
His parole and furloughs have been a matter of contention and often raised by the families of the victims as well as flagged by national political leaders.
However, the dera and the government have maintained that all were granted “as per the rules”.
Following his release, Anshul Chhatarpati, son of slain journalist Ram Chander Chhatarpati and various political leaders termed the development unfortunate.
Chhatarpati said that Singh’s frequent release from jail is creating a life threat to the victims of the cases.
“The victims in the undertrial cases have often flagged threats to life and his release poses risk to them,” he added.
He also made a contrast of the case with former UP BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar and said that the dera head is accused in several cases, out of which some are still under trial.
Senior Congress MLA Geeta Bhukkal said, “It would be better if you ask this question to the government: what is the reason? Generally, when people seek parole saying that their father has passed away, they need to attend a wedding at home, or there is some other urgent reason, parole is often not granted. Then why is it that whenever Ram Rahim seeks parole, he gets it so easily?”
Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas and Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha drew a direct contrast with the Supreme Court’s refusal to grant bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who have been behind bars for over five years, with Ram Rahim’s frequent release.
National spokesperson of the Nationalist Congress Party (Pawar) Anish Gawande wrote on X, “Ram Rahim comes out of jail today, on the same day that Umar Khalid’s bail application is denied. Let that sink in. A child rapist has more rights than a student who dared to question the government.”