Rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim granted 21-day parole; 17th release since 2017 conviction

Chandigarh: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Haryana’s Sunaria Jail in Rohtak for raping two female followers, has been granted another 21-day parole.

This is his 17th release from prison since his conviction in 2017.

Officials said Ram Rahim will be allowed to leave the jail and travel to the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa, where he is expected to arrive soon after his release.

Earlier, on May 26, he was granted a 30-day parole, during which he stayed at the Dera headquarters. He had also received 40-day paroles in January 2026 and August 2025, a 21-day furlough in April 2025 and a 30-day parole in January 2025, ahead of the February 5 Delhi Assembly elections. These were in addition to several other paroles and furloughs granted over the years.

The Dera Sacha Sauda has a significant following in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and other states. In Haryana, the sect has considerable influence in districts including Sirsa, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra, Kaithal and Hisar.

In another major development, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in March acquitted Ram Rahim in the 2002 murder case of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. The acquittal came seven years after a special CBI court had convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Vikram Aggarwal delivered the verdict while hearing appeals against the 2019 conviction. The court, however, rejected the appeals filed by two other accused. The Bench re-examined the evidence in the case, including questions surrounding the bullets allegedly used in the murder.

In 2019, a special CBI court in Panchkula had convicted Ram Rahim for Chhatrapati’s murder. Three of his close aides—Krishan Lal, Kuldeep Singh and Nirmal Singh—were also convicted.

Chhatrapati was shot in October 2002 and later succumbed to his injuries. The CBI took over the investigation after registering the case on November 10, 2003, following directions from the High Court. The case had initially been registered at a police station in Sirsa.