Chandigarh (Punjab): Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim and self-styled godman Friday was granted parole for a month by the BJP-led Haryana government. According to reports, during parole, Gurmeet Ram Rahim will stay at Barnawa in Bagpath Ashram in Uttar Pradesh. The Dera chief was provided Z-plus security cover during his parole owing to the "high threat perception" to his life from "pro-Khalistan" groups.
The court had sought a report from the administration in this regard. The report stated that there were no criminal cases registered against Ram Rahim in Bagpath after which the court did not object. He was released from jail four times for various reasons. On May 12, 2021, the Dera chief was admitted to the hospital for treatment. His plea to meet the ailing mother at Gurugram was also accepted.
Then in June, Ram Rahim was brought back to PGIMS. He was once again admitted to Medanta Medicity in Gurugram on June 6 for his further treatment. Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim is currently serving a life term for the murder of his manager in 2002 and was convicted in a rape case of two Sadhvis. He was brought to Haryana's, Rohtak Sunaria Jail on August 25, 2017. He has a huge number of followers in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh.
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Ram Rahim was airlifted to Sunaria Jail after his conviction on August 25, 2017, that erupted violence in Panchkula and Sirsa, during a court appearance leaving 41 people dead and over 260 injured. On August 28, 2017, in a special CBI court in the jail, CBI judge Jagdeep Singh had sentenced Ram Rahim to 20 years in prison for raping two Sadhvis.
Later in January 2019, a special CBI court also convicted Ram Rahim and three others to life imprisonment for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati over 16 years ago. Ram Rahim was sentenced to life imprisonment in the case. In October 2021, he was also sentenced to life imprisonment in another case for the murder of former Dera administrator Ranjit Singh. Ram Rahim was patronized by political leaders and parties in Punjab and Haryana for nearly two decades due to his ability to influence the votes of his followers.
