Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Released On Furlough.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been given Z-plus security during his release period

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh gets his 21-day release on furlough from the Sunaria jail in Haryana’s Rohtak district. He has been serving his 20-year jail sentence here for raping two women who were his disciples at his ashram headquarters based in Sirsa.

A special CBI court in Panchkula had convicted him in August 2017. Last year, he was also convicted with four other people for being complicit in a conspiracy to kill Ranjit Singh, a manager at Dera, in 2002. Besides these charges, he was also convicted in 2019 for having murdered a journalist almost 16 years ago.

The Dera chief had been held guilty for violating section 120-B read with section 302 of the IPC. He is convicted for being involved in the criminal conspiracy with his co-accused.

During his 21-day release on furlough, Ram Rahim has been granted Z-plus security since he has received high-level death threats from “pro-Khalistan” folds. A senior Haryana police official communicated to the Rohtak Range Commissioner: “In case the prisoner is released on parole, Z-plus security protection or equivalent may be provided as per existing rules, regulations, etc., as he faces a high-level threat from radical Sikh extremists in India and abroad.”

The senior official confirmed that the inputs concerning the threat to Ram Rahim’s life from pro-Khalistan activists are reliable. Gurmeet Ram Rahim was released on February 7 after the government of Haryana asserted that the Dera chief did not fall in the category of hardcore prisoners.

In India, the Z plus security cover is only provided to the most influential people of the country. It is the highest tier of security cover and is only next to the SPG (Special Protection Group) that is accorded to the Prime Minister and his immediate family. The citizens accorded with Z-plus security are provided with ten security personnel for mobile security. The deployed security personnel are National Security Guard commandos.

Currently, Ram Rahim is residing at his Gurugram ashram and is being observed under tight security. Jail authorities had sought legal opinion regarding whether Singh fell in the category of hardcore prisoners, following which the Dera chief was granted furlough.

The high-profile criminal was granted a 21-day furlough only a few days before the Punjab Assembly Election. The Dera Sacha Sauda has many disciples hailing from Sangrur, Patiala, Muktsar, and Bathinda. However, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has asserted that there is no link between Ram Rahim’s release and the Punjab assembly elections held on February 20. Khattar claimed that this was a coincidence and the release has no connection with the assembly polls.

Edited By : Atreyee Chakraborty

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