Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, convicted of rape and murder, has been granted a 40-day parole, marking the 15th time he has been released since his conviction in 2017.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in the 2002 murder case of a journalist, overturning a previous conviction by a special CBI court.
A case of attempted rape has been registered against the former jailer of Baghpat District Jail following allegations by a female officer posted at the prison, officials said Thursday.
This comes months after Singh walked out of the Sunaria jail in Haryana's Rohtak after being granted a 21-day furlough in April.
According to a police official from Rohtak, Singh returned to Sunaria jail late afternoon.
The Sirsa-headquartered Dera Sacha Sauda has a number of followers in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and other states.
Singh is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples.
Was Ram Rahim's release on parole for the 10th time since his conviction in 2017 timed to coincide with the Haryana assembly elections? It does seem so when one considers he has been released mostly when there was an election in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Listing the times that Ram Rahim has been out on parole.
Three prisoners, including a member of Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Mukhtar Ansari's gang, were shot dead inside the Chitrakoot district jail on Friday after which the Uttar Pradesh government suspended two jail officials, police said.
Terming the incident as serious, UP CM Yogi Adityanath has ordered a probe.
During his temporary release period, Singh will go to the Dera ashram in Barnawa in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat, they further said.
The parole comes two months after the Sirsa-headquartered sect chief had walked out of the Sunaria jail in Haryana's Rohtak district on November 21 last year after he was granted a 21-day furlough -- his third temporary release from jail in 2023.
In a major crackdown on the nexus between gangsters, terrorist groups and drug smugglers based in foreign countries including Pakistan and Canada, the National Investigation Agency conducted raids at 76 locations across eight states on Tuesday and seized a large cache of arms and ammunition and cash to tune of Rs 1.5 crores.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also issued instructions to book those found involved in facilitating cheating during examinations under the National Security Act, the statement said.
Dera Sacha Sauda chief and rape convict Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh walked out of the Sunaria jail in Haryana's Rohtak district on Thursday after he was granted a 30-day parole.
According to the police, a Special Task Force team retaliated when the gangster, recently released from prison on bail, opened fire at them after being cornered. His car had crashed into a pole.
Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari's brother alleged on Wednesday that inhuman treatment was given to him while being transferred to Banda jail from Punjab, saying it could have been better had he been shot dead at a road crossing.
The HYV describes itself as "a fierce cultural and social organisation dedicated to Hindutva and nationalism". Alongside cow protection, its stated objectives are "complete abolishment of the differentiation between touchable-untouchable and high-low, promote the harmonious development of society".
Among the key demands of agitating farmers has been a legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP). The protest reached a crescendo when thousands of farmers from Punjab and elsewhere marched towards Delhi late last year and decided to block the main entry points once they were denied entry. The Centre, on its part, held 11 rounds of discussions with the protesters and even offered to amend some of the provisions without much success. With now one of their chief demands met, farmers have now moved on to force the government to concede on MSP.
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