Rape-murder convict Ram Rahim out on furlough again, his 13th release since conviction in 2017

Gurugram: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is serving a 20-year sentence in Rohtak’s Sunaria Jail for rape and murder, is again out on a 21-day furlough. His release—the 13th instance of the Dera chief being granted parole or furlough since his first conviction in 2017—comes ahead of the sect’s 77th foundation day celebrations at its sprawling headquarters in Sirsa. Ram Rahim left the Sunaria Jail around 6:30 a.

m. on Wednesday under tight security and headed straight to the Sirsa Dera, where he is expected to spend all 21 days. Just over two months ago, on 28 January, he came out on a 30-day parole , spending 10 days at the Sirsa Dera and the remaining 20 at the sect’s Barnawa ashram in Uttar Pradesh.



That release had drawn sharp criticism from political analysts and victims’ families, who questioned Haryana’s motives. Political parties across the spectrum normally avoid commenting on his release, ostensibly for the fear of losing the votes of Dera followers. The Dera chief has a sizable following in Haryana and Punjab.

Most of his temporary releases have coincided with elections, be it panchayat, state or national elections. In fact, the Dera headquarters had given a call to its followers in October last year to support the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Haryana elections. Also Read: Why BJP govt in Haryana is so kind to rapist-murderer Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, out on parole again Ram Rahim’s journey in and out of jail since his 2017 conviction paints a striking picture.

His first taste of temporary freedom came on 24 October, 2020, with a one-day parole to visit his ailing mother in a hospital. This was followed by a 12-hour parole on 21 May, 2021, again to meet his mother. In 2022, the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government brought an amendment to earlier laws that relaxed some conditions, notably removing the need for prisoners to specify reasons for furlough—a change which critics argue has facilitated Ram Rahim’s frequent releases.

The frequency picked up in 2022, with a 21-day furlough on 7 February to meet family, a 30-day parole in June that saw him stay at the Baghpat ashram, and a 40-day parole in October during which he released music videos from Baghpat. Graphic | ThePrint In 2023, he secured a 40-day parole on January 21 to attend Shah Satnam Singh’s birth anniversary, a 30-day parole on 20 July, and a 21-day furlough on 21 November again retreating to Baghpat. The year 2024 saw him out on a 50-day parole starting 19 January, a 21-day furlough on 13 August to Baghpat, and a 20-day parole on 2 October ahead of the Haryanapolls, during which he stayed at Barnawa.

With his parole in January and the latest furlough in April this year, the Dera Sacha Sauda chief has stayed out of jail for more than 300 days. Opposing Ram Rahim’s frequent releases, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has repeatedly challenged the Haryana government’s decisions in court, only to face setbacks. In January 2023, the SGPC had first approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the Haryana government’s repeated paroles and furloughs to the Dera chief.

When the High Court dismissed its plea in August 2024, the SGPC escalated the matter to the Supreme Court. However, on 25 February this year, the apex court refused to intervene in the matter. A senior officer of the Haryana Prisons Department informed The Print that under Haryana’s legal framework, governed by the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022, parole and furlough serve distinct purposes.

Parole is a conditional release, typically granted for specific reasons such as a family emergency—death, illness, or a wedding—and is not a prisoner’s right. A prisoner has to report to authorities with the duration (up to 70 days annually) not counting toward the sentence. Furlough, on the other hand, is a legal entitlement, designed as a break from the monotony of prison life to aid rehabilitation.

It does not require a specific reason and is capped at 21 days per year in Haryana, with the time served outside jail counting as part of the sentence. Approvals for parole come from the Divisional Commissioner, while furloughs are sanctioned by the prison department. While in August 2017 a CBI court sentenced him to 20 years for raping two female disciples at his Sirsa ashram, he was was handed a life sentence for the murder of journalist Ramchandra Chhatrapati in January 2019.

He was served another life term in October 2021 for the killing of Dera manager Ranjit Singh. In May 2024, the Punjab and Haryana High Court acquitted him in the Ranjit Singh murder case, a decision now under appeal in the Supreme Court. (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: How parole to rape & murder convict Ram Rahim days before Haryana polls might benefit BJP var ytflag = 0;var myListener = function() {document.

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