Chandigarh, August 25, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is serving a 20-year sentence in Sunaria Jail in Haryana’s Rohtak for raping two female followers, has been granted another 21-day parole, officials said.
The latest parole will mark his 17th release from prison since his conviction in 2017. Under the permission granted to him, Ram Rahim will leave Sunaria Jail and travel to the Dera Sacha Sauda headquarters in Sirsa.
The sect chief was most recently granted a 30-day parole on May 26 and spent the period at the Dera headquarters. Earlier, he received 40-day paroles in January 2026 and August 2025, besides a 21-day furlough in April 2025 and a 30-day parole in January 2025, among several other temporary releases.
The Dera Sacha Sauda has a substantial following in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and other parts of the country. In Haryana, the sect has considerable influence in districts including Sirsa, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra, Kaithal and Hisar.
Separately, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in March acquitted Ram Rahim in the 2002 murder case of Sirsa-based journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Vikram Aggarwal allowed his appeal against the 2019 conviction while dismissing appeals filed by two other accused.
A special CBI court in Panchkula had convicted Ram Rahim and three of his aides — Krishan Lal, Kuldeep Singh and Nirmal Singh — in the murder case in 2019 and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Chhatrapati was shot in October 2002 and later died. The CBI took over the investigation in November 2003 following directions from the High Court.
Ram Rahim continues to serve his 20-year sentence imposed after his conviction for raping two women followers.
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