Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim

The Dera Sacha Sauda chief, convicted in rape and murder cases, has been released form jail temporarily on four occasions since last year.

In February, he was granted a [21-day furlough](https://scroll.in/latest/1016816/dera-sacha-sauda-chief-gurmeet-ram-rahim-gets-furlough-for-21-days) ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections. We request you to support our award-winning journalism by making a financial contribution towards the Scroll Ground Reporting Fund. This is the fourth time since last year that the Dera chief has been allowed to be out on parole. His last parole had ended on November 25, according to PTI. In 2021, a Central Bureau of Investigation court had also [Sunaria prison in Rohtak district](https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/haryana/dera-sacha-sauda-head-gurmeet-ram-rahim-singh-released-from-rohtak-jail-on-40-day-parole-472449) on Saturday afternoon on the parole he was granted on Friday, The Tribune reported.

Ram Rahim had said in his parole application that he wants to attend an event to mark the birth anniversary of former dera chief Shah Satnam Singh on ...

Last year, he, along with four others, was convicted for hatching a conspiracy to kill the Dera’s former manager Ranjit Singh, who was shot dead, also in 2002. In June 2019, Ram Rahim was made to withdraw his parole plea after the Opposition parties cornered the Haryana government for allegedly favouring him. [Panchkula](https://indianexpress.com/section/cities/panchkula/) for raping two of his women disciples at the Dera headquarters in Sirsa. Ram Rahim had said in his application that he wants to attend an event to mark the birth anniversary of former dera chief Shah Satnam Singh on January 25. “If this attitude continues, the feeling of alienation will prevail among the Sikhs who struggled for freedom of the country. Ram Rahim arrived at Barnawa Ashram in a convoy of half-a-dozen vehicles.