Rape Convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Gets 40-Day Parole Again

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the Dera Sacha Sauda chief convicted of raping two disciples, has been granted a 40-day parole and released from Sunaria jail in Rohtak on Monday. This marks the 15th time Singh has been allowed out of prison since his conviction in August 2017. His previous parole stints include 40 days in August last year, 21 days in April 2025, 30 days in January 2025, and 20 days in October 2024, just days before Haryana’s state elections. Despite public criticism, authorities continue to approve his parole.

Singh has faced a series of serious allegations since 2002, including rape, murder, and blasphemy. The earliest case of sexual exploitation was reported through an anonymous letter sent to then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the Punjab and Haryana High Court chief justice. The investigation was later handed over to the CBI, and in 2007, a chargesheet was filed. After nearly ten years, Singh was convicted by a special CBI court in August 2017, receiving two 10-year sentences for rape and criminal intimidation.

He has also been convicted in other cases, including the 2002 murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and the murder of his manager, Renjith Singh, for which he and others received life sentence. During previous paroles, Singh has often stayed at the Dera’s ashram in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh. The Dera Sacha Sauda, headquartered in Sirsa, has followers across Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan.