Eight years, 15 paroles: Impossible to ignore pattern of paroles for Gurmeet Singh
Jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Singh, convicted of raping two of his disciples and serving a life sentence for the murder of a journalist, has once again been granted parole, this time for 40 days. Approved on January 3, this marks the 15th temporary release he has received since his first conviction in 2017.
The pattern is by now impossible to ignore. Parole after parole, furlough after furlough, the man sentenced to 20 years for rape and life imprisonment for murder has spent a significant portion of his sentence outside prison walls. His latest release will see him stay at the headquarters of his Sirsa-based organisation, a familiar arrangement from previous paroles, including earlier stints at Dera ashrams in Uttar Pradesh.
This is not an isolated administrative decision but part of a long and troubling sequence. In August last year, he was granted another 40-day parole. Before that came a 21-day furlough in April, a 30-day parole in January ahead of the Delhi assembly elections, and a 20-day parole in October just before Haryana went to the polls. Go further back and the pattern repeats itself with striking regularity, relief timed uncomfortably close to elections, public campaigns, or politically sensitive moments.
Each release has been defended as being “within the rules.” But when rules begin to function only for the powerful, legality stops being a shield and becomes an indictment. Ram Rahim is not an undertrial or a first-time offender. He is a convicted rapist and murderer whose crimes led to violence, deaths, and long-lasting trauma. The question is no longer whether parole is technically permissible, but whether the spirit of justice is being systematically hollowed out.
Dera Sacha Sauda’s large and politically relevant following across Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and neighbouring states is an open secret. Districts like Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, and Kurukshetra have repeatedly seen the group’s influence reflected in electoral calculations. Against this backdrop, repeated paroles begin to look less like humanitarian considerations and more like transactional governance.
For survivors, journalists, students activists and ordinary citizens, the message is chilling. Sentences handed down by courts appear negotiable. Justice seems elastic, strict for some, endlessly flexible for others. Every parole chips away at public faith in the criminal justice system and reinforces the belief that power, not principle, determines outcomes.
At some point, the question must be asked plainly: if a man convicted of rape and murder can step out of jail again and again with clockwork regularity, what does a life sentence actually mean in this country?
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
