Dera Chief Ram Rahim Granted 21-Day Furlough: 17th Temporary Release Since 2020
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was released from Sunaria jail on a 21-day furlough, marking his 17th temporary release since 2020 and third release of 2026
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh gets 21-day furlough from Sunaria jail, marking his 17th temporary release since 2020
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was released from Rohtak’s high-security Sunaria jail early on Tuesday after being granted a 21-day furlough, marking his 17th temporary release since October 2020 and his third release this year.
Ram Rahim walked out of the prison at around 6.05 am amid tight security and is learnt to have reached the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa.
The latest furlough comes less than two months after he returned to Sunaria jail on June 26 following the completion of a 30-day parole granted to him in May.
17th temporary release since 2020
With the latest furlough, Ram Rahim has spent approximately 457 days outside prison on parole or furlough since 2020, excluding the period he was permitted to leave prison for around 12 hours in May 2021 to visit his ailing mother.
In 2026 alone, he has now spent 91 days outside prison through temporary releases. He was granted 40 days’ parole in January, followed by 30 days in May and the present 21-day furlough in August.
His temporary releases have become a recurring subject of public and political debate because of their frequency while he continues to serve sentences in serious criminal cases.
Convicted in rape and murder cases
Ram Rahim is serving a 20-year prison sentence imposed by a special CBI court in 2017 after he was convicted of raping two women disciples.
He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in two separate murder cases.
In 2019, he was convicted for the murder of Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati, while in 2021 he was convicted for conspiring to murder former Dera manager Ranjit Singh.
However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court subsequently acquitted him in both murder cases. He was acquitted in the Ranjit Singh murder case in 2024 and in the Chhatrapati murder case in 2026.
His 20-year sentence in the rape cases continues to remain the principal sentence for which he is incarcerated.
Pattern of repeated paroles and furloughs
Ram Rahim’s temporary releases have continued almost every year since 2022.
In 2022, he was released twice, for 21 and 30 days respectively, followed by a 40-day release in October.
In 2023, he received releases of 40 days in January, 30 days in July and 21 days in November.
During the 2024 election year, he was released three times: for 50 days in January, 21 days in August and 20 days in October.
In 2025, he received 30 days’ parole in January, 21 days in April and 40 days in August.
His releases in 2026 have so far included 40 days in January, 30 days in May and the present 21-day furlough.
Ram Rahim's temporary releases since 2020
October 2020: 1 day
May 2021: Around 12 hours
February 2022: 21 days
June 2022: 30 days
October 2022: 40 days
January 2023: 40 days
July 2023: 30 days
November 2023: 21 days
January 2024: 50 days
August 2024: 21 days
October 2024: 20 days
January 2025: 30 days
April 2025: 21 days
August 2025: 40 days
January 2026: 40 days
May 2026: 30 days
August 2026: 21 days
The latest furlough takes his total number of temporary releases since October 2020 to 17, with the controversial Dera chief once again outside prison despite continuing to serve his sentence in the rape cases.
[Source: HT]