Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim gets 21-day furlough from jail

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been granted a 21-day furlough on Monday by the state's jail administration. Singh is currently lodged in Rohtak's Sunaria jail for raping two of his disciples. 

"He has been granted furlough from February 7 to 20. Except for his family members, the Dera chief would not be allowed to meet anyone. We will hand him over to Gurugram police who are yet to reach Rohtak. We will release him by evening," a jail official said, a Hindustan Times report said. 

However, the Dera chief has been asked to stay at his farmhouse in Gurugram. He won't be allowed to visit Sirsa.

Last year too, Singh had been given emergency parole from sunrise to sunset to meet his ailing mother. He had also come out of jail on a couple of occasions on health grounds.

Singh, 54, was convicted in August 2017 by a special CBI court in Panchkula and is currently serving a 20-year jail term. 

The Sirsa headquartered Dera has a large number of followers in poll-bound states of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Hence, parole at this time is considered highly significant. 

Here is what CM Khattar said about the parole:

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, however, said that furlough to Gurmeet Ram Rahim has nothing to do with any polls, stressing that the Dera chief got the furlough as per the procedures, as quoted by Hindustan Times report. 

Since Dera chief had completed a minimum of three years in prison, he had applied for the furlough a few days back, Khattar said adding, “Everything has been done as per the law.”