Dera Sacha Sauda, a quasi-religious cult with hundreds of thousands of followers, offers a wide variety of products and educational and health services, its website states.
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who is serving a prison sentence in a Haryana jail, was granted a three-week furlough on Monday, a reprieve that Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said had nothing to do with elections.
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.
The high court asked the state government to make arrangements for security and safe transport by air of the judicial officer and two staff members.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim, head of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, is no regular godman.
Ajit Pawar became a ray of hope for Muslims, the only man in power who could resolve their grievances.
The Haryana government on Tuesday granted 20-day parole to the sect chief, official sources said.
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's former jailer Sunil Sangwan has won the Charkhi Dadri seat in Haryana as Bharatiya Janata Party candidate.
Pronouncing 'tankhah' (religious punishment) for Sukhbir Singh Badal and other leaders for the 'mistakes' committed by the Shiromani Akali Dal government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017, the Sikh clergy at the Akal Takht on Monday directed the senior Akali leader to perform as a 'sewadar', and wash dishes and clean shoes at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
The Sirsa-headquartered Dera Sacha Sauda has a number of followers in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and other states.
The Dera chief has sought to stay in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, during the parole period, if granted.
He has been incarcerated since 2017 in Haryana's Sunaria jail where he is serving a 20-year term for raping two women disciples at his ashram's headquarters in Sirsa.
Haryana Jail Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala also said, "Gurmeet Ram Rahim is like every other prisoner here and he also has his fundamental rights."
During his temporary release period, Singh will go to the Dera ashram in Barnawa in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat, they further said.
The latest parole to the Dera chief, who is serving a 20-year jail term for raping his two disciples, comes three months after he was granted a similar parole.
According to a police official from Rohtak, Singh returned to Sunaria jail late afternoon.
He was seen wearing a plaque around his neck while sitting in a wheelchair because of a fractured leg.
Rebel Akali leader Gurpartap Singh Wadala slammed Badal's move, saying instead of showing "a sense of renunciation", he issued a "dictatorial order" aimed to sideline those who want a "change" for strengthening the party
'The way the anticipation is built up for Gabbar Singh's introduction scene with sound, image and details of his personality, like the combat boots he wears.' 'The camera comes so close -- not a tele lens shot, but a wide-angle close-up -- that you can almost smell Gabbar's breath.'
A special CBI court in Panchkula on Friday convicted Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for the murder of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh in 2002.
The 62-year-old former deputy chief minister was first elected the party president in 2008. His re-election at the outfit's general delegate session in Amritsar comes barely four months after he quit after he was declared 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct) by the Akal Takht for "mistakes" committed by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and its government from 2007 to 2017.
The sect chief said this was only a media speculation, and that he is, was, and will continue to head the sect, which has a large number of followers in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
Several states declared a holiday for schools, while government offices, other establishments and public sector banks remained closed for half a day.
They handed the apology letter to Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh at the Akal Takht Secretariat at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The Akal Takht is the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs.
Badal's resignation came days after he urged the Akal Takht Jathedar to pronounce his punishment for religious misconduct charges, saying more than two months have passed since he was declared 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct).
The dera chief, who is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two disciples, was granted 40-day parole on January 20.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice GS Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji was hearing a petition of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee which had challenged the grant of temporary release to the Dera Sacha Sauda chief.
The 50-year-old self-styled godman, who boasted of millions of followers, is lodged in Rohtak's Sunaria jail for raping his two disciples.
"If any wrong words have been spoken about him, I apologise to God Shri Ram for it," Nishad told reporters in Fatehpur. "Lord Shri Ram has done a lot for our community and our community has played an important role in the construction of the Shri Ram temple," he said.
The Dera Sacha Sauda chief and the three others convicted last Friday in the case appeared before the court through video conferencing.
The step was taken following questioning of another arrested functionary of the sect in connection with an alleged conspiracy to facilitate Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim's escape after he was convicted for raping two disciples, police said.
At least three MLAs were marshalled out on the directions of Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather but the brawl ensued due to resistance put up by the opposition members.
Congress leader sought stern action against the BJP MP.
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.
The sect chief is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two women disciples at his ashram in Sirsa, where the dera is headquartered.
'It was very clear that there would be violence if the verdict was not what they wanted.' 'Then why did they allow his followers to gather here in such huge numbers?'
The special court had convicted them on Friday in the murder case of a Dera manager, Ranjit Singh.
Ram Rahim did not talk with anyone and was seen roaming in the cell.
The CBI court is hearing the cases of killings of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and former Dera manager Ranjit Singh.
The man, identified as Narain Singh, was overpowered by some people standing outside the Golden Temple.
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