No special cell: Dera chief being treated like 'normal prisoner'

After reports of Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh being given special treatment surfaced, Director General of Police Prisons, on Saturday, in a clarification, said that the former is being treated as a normal prisoner.

DG Prisons in Panchkula DR KP Singh said that he would request all media houses to not air or publish incorrect news about such incidents.

“The Dera chief has been locked up in District Jail, Sonaria at Rohtak and is being treated like a normal prisoner according to the Haryana jail manual,” Singh further said.

Clarifying on reports of proving Ram Rahim Singh with ‘luxurious’ items, KP Singh said that no RO system or attendants have been provided to him, as it was said in media reports.

Adding, “There is no air conditioner in the cell where he is locked and is also kept under the surveillance of two prisoners as per the jail manual.”

The death toll in the violence after the self-styled godman’s conviction rose to 31 on Saturday.

Image: Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim in a helicopter in which he was flown from Panchkula to Rohtak town where he is now in prison. Photograph: PTI Photo