Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the self-styled "godman" convicted of rape and murder, has withdrawn his parole application that created a nationwide row last month. He had urged the jail authorities to grant him a 42-day respite from his prison sentence to tend to his fields. A report by the administration, however, revealed he had no agricultural land to his name.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for raping two women. A special CBI court in Panchkula also sentenced him and three others to life imprisonment for the murder of a journalist over 16 years ago. He is lodged in Rohtak's Sunaria jail and has completed a year of his prison sentence.
When the superintendent of Rohtak district jail was asked for his opinion on parole to Ram Rahim, he had said that the "godman" was not a hardcore criminal and had a good conduct in prison.
Anshul Chhatrapati, son of Ram Chander Chhatrapati who was killed by Ram Rahim and his henchmen, had threatened to move court if he was granted parole.
"He had my father killed just because he published a story against him. If he is freed, our lives could be at risk. It can also affect the outcome of the pending cases against him," Anshul was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had said every inmate had the right to apply for parole.
"The decision rests with the Divisional Commissioner and the report is awaited. We won't take any decision which will be against the interests of the state. Every inmate has a right to apply for parole and when and if the role of the government will be involved, we will see to it," he had said.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim had applied for an interim bail in April, saying he wanted to attend the marriage of his foster daughter. He, however, withdrew his plea later.
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