Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh
Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh walked out of the Sunaria jail in Haryana's Rohtak district on Thursday after he was granted a 30-day parole.
Singh came out of the prison at 5 pm, one of his counsels said.
He will be going to the Dera Sacha Sauda Ashram at Barnawa in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat, advocate Jitender Khurana told PTI over the phone.
The Sirsa-headquartered sect's chief had applied for temporary release to avail himself of parole. He is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples.
Earlier, Singh had been granted a 40-day parole in January. In October last year, too, he was granted a 40-day parole.
While out on parole on these two occasions, Singh had gone to his Barnawa ashram and held several online "satsang" sessions.
Prior to his October parole, he had come out of prison on a month-long parole in June of last year. Besides, he was granted three weeks' furlough starting February 7, 2022.
According to the warrant for his temporary release, Singh has been released on a regular parole of 30 days, subject to the condition that the prisoner shall, during the period of his temporary release, reside at the ashram in Barnawa.
He shall not, without obtaining prior permission of the district magistrate (DM), visit any place not specified in the release warrant during the said period, it said.
The warrant said that at the time of his release on regular parole, the prisoner shall give to the DM concerned full particulars of the place where he intends to reside during the period of his temporary release and shall keep the DM informed of any subsequent changes to his residence during the period.
The prisoner shall, during the period of his temporary release, keep peace and maintain good behaviour, according to the warrant for his temporary release.
The in-charge of the police station concerned shall keep a close watch on the conduct and activities of the prisoner during the temporary release and submit a report in this regard to the jail superintendent through the deputy commissioner of police or Superintendent of police as early as possible, it said.
In 2021, the dera chief, along with four others, was also convicted of hatching a conspiracy to kill Ranjit Singh, a dera manager. The dera chief and three others were convicted in 2019 for the murder of a journalist more than 16 years ago.