Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is serving a 20-year sentence in a rape case along with a life sentence for murder, was released from Rohtak’s Sunaria jail on Tuesday morning after being granted a 30-day parole. According to reports, prison authorities quietly released him around 6:30 am to avoid large gatherings of supporters outside the jail. He later arrived at the Sirsa-based Dera headquarters in a convoy of luxury vehicles, including high-end SUVs such as a Toyota Land Cruiser and Fortuner Legender.

This marks Ram Rahim’s 16th temporary release since his conviction in 2017 and his second parole this year alone. His latest release has once again triggered political and public debate because it coincides with municipal elections in Punjab, where the Dera holds considerable influence among voters. Critics have repeatedly alleged that many of his paroles and furloughs appear around elections or major Dera events, raising questions over whether political considerations are influencing the repeated approvals.

Ram Rahim was convicted in 2017 for raping two women followers and later received a life sentence in the murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. He also faced conviction in the murder case of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh, although that conviction was later overturned by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, with the CBI appeal still pending in the Supreme Court. Opposition voices and victim families continue criticising the Haryana government’s parole policy changes introduced in 2022, arguing that the revised law made it easier for long-term convicts like Ram Rahim to secure repeated temporary releases.