Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, accused of raping two disciples, has been granted parole for 40 days, PTI reported, quoting sources.
Singh is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in Haryana’s Sunaria jail for raping two women disciples at his ashram in Sirsa, at the Dera headquarters.
The move comes just ahead of the Adampur by-poll which is scheduled to be held on November 3.
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The Dera chief’s family had submitted an application to the jail authorities seeking parole, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday.
Haryana jails minister Ranjit Singh had said that the application was being examined and a decision would be taken in accordance with law.
The Dera chief was earlier granted a month-long parole in June, and was granted a three weeks furlough in the month of February.
Also Read: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, four others sentenced to life imprisonment in Ranjit Singh murder case
In August 2017, the sect chief was convicted by a special CBI court in Panchkula. In 2021, he, along with four others were convicted for hatching a conspiracy to kill Dera manager Ranjit Singh in 2002.
In 2019, the Dera chief, along with three others were convicted for the murder of a journalist about 16 years ago, as per PTI.