Govt. & Court clash over Rape-Accused God-Man Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh

The controversial leader of the Sikh sect known as the Dera Sacha Sauda, is in the news again and once more, for the wrong reasons. The influential god-man who has been convicted and sentenced for two counts of rape and two murders, has been enjoying regular periods of parole from his life imprisonment sentence, which he began serving in 2017.  Even behind bars, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh seems to be wielding his influence by getting the Haryana State Government to grant him time outside jail without the ratification of the Punjab and Harayana Court. 

Only in January this year, Ram Rahim Singh was granted a generous 50-day parole. This happens to be his seventh parole in the last 9 months and his tenth in the past 4 years! Well, now the concerned High Court has put its foot down, refusing to allow the government to exercise over-riding powers in the case. The judicial institution has demanded that the authorities ensure the prisoner surrender on March 10 – the end date of his current parole. Plus, the Court has insisted that henceforth, the government seek its permission before granting him any more paroles. 

The guru has clearly far overstepped his bounds. Even the Harayana Chief Minister Chaudhary Ranjit Singh Chautala, went on record to say that any prisoner can be granted only two paroles amounting to 70 days and one furlough of 30 days. The state's elected leader added that any prisoner sentenced to 7 years or more can apply for the concession through the district magistrate. So, it appears that there is much confusion between the powers-that-be, allowing Ram Rahim Singh to conveniently avail of the same.

So who are the victims of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief? One was a former sadhvi of the sect who accused Ram Rahim Singh of sex assault on two occasions in 2002. Violent protests perpetrated by sect members, followed the announcement convicting their chief. That same year, Ram Rahim Singh was charged with the murder of sect manager Ranjit Singh, the conviction coming several years later along with that for the killing of journalist Ram Chandar Chhatrapati. And that’s not all. Ram Rahim has also been prosecuted for the castration of 400 of his followers. In his down time, he has also been a social worker, singer, songwriter, actor, director and composer. Makes for quite a maverick religious leader one would think.