On January 19 this year, Singh received a 50-day parole until March 10. The Lok Sabha election schedule was announced on March 16.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, head of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect convicted of rape and murder, has been out of jail on furlough for 253 days since February 7, 2022. His recent release on August 13 marks his second parole this year. Singh, who walked out of Sunaria jail in Haryana’s Rohtak on a 21-day furlough, had previously been granted a 50-day parole in January, just before the Lok Sabha elections held in April-May. For his latest furlough, he will stay at the Dera ashram in Barnawa, Uttar Pradesh.
The timing of these paroles has raised concerns as they often coincide with key elections. Singh’s current furlough could influence the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections in October, especially given the sect’s alliance with the BJP in tight constituencies like Sirsa, Fatehabad, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Panchkula, and Hisar. This combine, particularly influential among Dalit voters, is troubling for opposition parties, especially the Congress.
The timeline of releases
Since 2022, when he became eligible for such breaks, Singh has been granted furloughs eight times, spending roughly 26 percent of his sentence outside jail. His first furlough in February 2022 came just before the Punjab Assembly elections, and shortly after, Haryana introduced the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022.
Under this Act, Singh received a 30-day parole in June 2022, around the time of local body elections in Haryana, and another 40-day parole in October 2022 before the Adampur byelection. His parole ended on November 25, 2022, just as Himachal Pradesh held its Assembly elections. He spent 91 days out of jail in 2022.
In 2023, Singh was out on parole for another 91 days, with a 40-day release beginning January 21 and a 30-day parole starting July 20, around the panchayat elections in Haryana. He was also granted a 21-day furlough starting November 21, just before the Rajasthan Assembly polls.
On January 19 this year, Singh received a 50-day parole until March 10. The Lok Sabha election schedule was announced on March 16.
The latest temporary release comes shortly after the Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed a petition by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) challenging Singh’s furlough.
A Congress leader told The Telegraph, “The BJP’s plan is out in the open. It will likely ask Dera Sacha Sauda to influence followers as it has in previous elections. It might impact our chances but not significantly.”
Haryana Congress president Udai Bhan added, “This is their (BJP) mentality to get votes. They can do anything to get a mandate, but people have understood their game. The release is not going to impact the polls.”
The convictions so far
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for raping two of his disciples and is lodged at the Sunaria jail in Haryana’s Rohtak. He was sentenced in 2017. Singh was given two life sentences — one in January 2019 for the murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and another in October 2021 in the murder of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh.
In May, the High Court acquitted him and four others in the murder of Ranjit Singh, citing “tainted and sketchy” investigations.
On October 24, 2002, Ram Chander Chhatrapati, editor of the Poora Sach evening daily, was shot outside his residence in Sirsa. The attack took place after Chhatrapati published a letter from the Dera’s female disciples to the President of India accusing Singh of rape. Chhatrapati died on November 21, 2002.
Anshul Chhatrapati, speaking to ThePrint about his father’s murder, claimed that the Haryana Police made no real effort to investigate the case. He also accused the Haryana government of enacting the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 2022, to benefit Ram Rahim by eliminating the need to justify parole or furlough requests, a requirement previously in place.
Both parole and furlough allow prisoners short-term release. While the latter can be claimed without any reason, the law in question granted parole without reason too.
Haryana Minister for Jails and Energy Ranjit Singh said that parole and furlough are statutory rights available to prisoners. He denied any electoral motives behind the Act and clarified that under the jail manual, each prisoner is entitled to 70 days of parole annually, which can be applied for twice a year.
The politics of the Dera
The Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda has a history of political involvement. Singh has supported both the Congress and BJP at different times. Singh, who hails from Gurusar Modia village in Rajasthan, wields substantial political influence across Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and neighbouring states.
Political figures from these regions have often sought the sect’s endorsement. These include late Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son Sukhbir Badal, nephew Manpreet Singh Badal, former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, BJP leaders Anil Vij and Kuldeep Bishnoi, as well as Haryana Congress leaders Deepender Hooda and Ashok Tanwar.
Ram Rahim’s political impact became evident during the 2007 Punjab Assembly elections when the Dera urged its followers to vote for the Congress. Although the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) emerged victorious, it lost crucial seats in the Malwa region, where the Dera has a significant following.
In the 2014 Haryana Assembly elections, the Dera’s backing of the BJP was instrumental in the party achieving a majority for the first time in the state. During an election rally in Sirsa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the Dera’s charitable activities without directly mentioning Ram Rahim, who was then facing criminal charges.
Ahead of the polls, Kailash Vijayvargiya, the BJP’s in-charge for Haryana, had visited Ram Rahim with 40 party candidates on October 13 to seek his blessings. After the BJP formed the government, over 18 MLAs, along with various ministers and Vijayvargiya, visited Ram Rahim to express their gratitude for his support.
