Ram Rahim is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two followers at his ashram 15 years ago.
, the self-declared godman serving a 20-year sentence for rape, is not enjoying VIP treatment in jail, a Haryana Minister said today, rubbishing reports of special privileges, longer visiting hours and a laid-back lifestyle for the disgraced Dera Sacha Sauda chief.
"He isn't being given VIP treatment and is living like any other inmate. There's a lot of distance between the barracks, they can't even interact with him so they are saying it just like that," said minister Krishan Lal Panwar.
Rahul Jain, a convict out on bail, told the ANI news agency today that because of Ram Rahim, the movement of others at Rohtak's Sunaria jail has been heavily restricted. He also said Ram Rahim met his visitors for two hours, instead of the regulation 20 minutes granted to all others.
Ram Rahim's meals are brought to the prison in a special vehicle, he said, adding that jail officials kept their seniors in the dark by cutting out clips from newspapers.
A convict out on bail said Ram Rahim met his visitors for two hours, instead of the regulation 20 minutes granted to all others.
"Authorities say that Baba is in the same jail but no one has seen him there. No one is allowed to go wherever Baba is kept," Jain said. He claimed that all other prisoners were locked up whenever Ram Rahim was let out of his cell, usually for trips to the canteen for water, milk, or juice.
Jain alleged that since Ram Rahim's arrival, other prisoners had been deprived of basic necessities. "Since he came, everyone is having a lot of problems. Earlier, we used to freely roam within the campus, the food was also good, but all that changed. Even basic necessities like clothes and shoes stopped coming in," said the convict. The prisoners reportedly even went on a strike in protest.
He claimed that the situation improved somewhat when a prisoner approached a judge, who pulled up the jail administration. "The supply gradually began after that," Jain said.
Jain claims that
Ram Rahim, unlike other prisoners, doesn't work on his assigned duties.
"Jail authorities say he works, but we don't believe it. Since we have never seen him, he might or might not be working," he said.
Ram Rahim is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two followers at his ashram 15 years ago.