Dera chief Ram Rahim seeks 21-day furlough again

Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim has moved the Punjab and Haryana high court for directions to grant him a 21-day furlough. The application will be heard by the court of acting chief justice on July 2.

Approaching the HC for a 21-day furlough, the dera chief has sought directions to consider and decide the application for furlough in accordance with the law under the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoner (temporary release) Act, 2022, mentioning that an application for furlough has already been made to the authorities concerned, but due to a February 29 stay order that plea has not been considered.

In his latest plea seeking furlough, he has mentioned several welfare activities which are carried out by the sect headed by him for which the motivational drive is required to be carried out by him.

In the application moved for parole, Ram Rahim said he is a religious head of the institution, Dera Sacha Sauda, Sirsa, where a ‘sewadar shradhanjali bhandara’ is organised once every two years in June. This event is held to pay tributes to regular volunteers who have either spent their life in social service or lost their life in accidents or serious ailments. The event is to pay condolences and to provide every possible help to their families.

A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in January 2023 against the frequent paroles granted to Ram Rahim by the Haryana government.

In February, the high court had asked the Haryana government not to grant further parole to Dera Sacha Sauda chief without its permission.

The HC then was hearing a petition of the SGPC which had challenged the grant of temporary release to the dera chief.

The HC on May 28 had acquitted the Dera Sacha Sauda chief and four others of the murder of former dera manager Ranjit Singh in 2002.

Ram Rahim was convicted in 2021 by the special CBI court in Panchkula and was awarded life term for plotting the murder of his former follower, who was shot dead by four assailants on July 10, 2002, at his native Khanpur Kolian village in Kurukshetra district of Haryana.

Though acquitted, Ram Rahim, won’t come out of jail as he is convicted in two rape cases and another murder case.

Ram Rahim has been convicted for 20 years of jail in two rapes (2017), life term for conspiring murder of a journalist (2019) and another conviction of life term for criminal conspiracy into murder of a dera follower (2021). As per record submitted in high court, Ram Rahim, whose jail journey began on August 25, 2017, was granted temporary release from prison for the ninth time on January 19 for 50 days. He is lodged in Sunaria jail in Rohtak district.

He is serving two convictions of 10 years each (to run consecutively) in rape cases of two female disciples at Dera premises in Sirsa in 2002, awarded in 2017. His two life terms awarded in murder cases would start after completion of 20 years of jail in rape cases.

(With inputs from agencies)