Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said that he had no role in the parole that was granted to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh as jails have their own rules.
Last week, the Dera chief was granted parole for 40 days. Ram Rahim is currently serving a 20-year jail term on rape charges of two disciples at the Dera ashram in Sirsa. The parole comes just before Haryana’s Adampur by-poll that is scheduled on November 3. Panchayat elections in the state are also due.
“I had no role in this…. Courts announce imprisonment and a convict goes to jail. After that, the jail’s rules apply to all the inmates,” Khattar said at a press conference organised on the completion of eight years of his government, as quoted by news agency PTI. When asked about the timings of the parole, Khattar said he had nothing more to say on the issue.
Also Read: Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh granted 40-day parole ahead of Adampur by-poll
Out on parole, the rape convict Dera chief has been holding online discourses from his Barnawa ashram in Uttar Pradesh, which have been attended by his followers, including several Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders from Haryana.
In February, ahead of the 2022 Punjab elections, the Dera chief was granted three weeks’ furlough.
Also Read: Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim granted one-month parole, walks out of Rohtak jail
Five, including Ram Rahim, was convicted for hatching a conspiracy in 2002 for the murder of a Dera manager named Ranjit Singh. In 2019, Dera chief and three others were convicted for killing a journalist over 16 years ago.